16-Year-Old Stabs Stepdad To Death With Samurai Sword

Jasper, GA — A teenager was taken into custody Sunday night after allegedly stabbing his stepfather to death with a sword, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office said.

A relative of the 16-year-old called 911 late Friday night to report the stabbing at the Jasper home, Lt. Kris Stancil said. Deputies found the victim, Christopher Allen, inside the Fern Creek Court home, which is located in the gated community of the Preserve at Sharp Mountain.

The teen, whose name has not been released, was taken into custody shortly after deputies arrived at the home. Thirty-six-year-old Allen was transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, where he died during emergency surgery.

In an emailed statement, Sheriff Donnie Griggs said investigators believe the teen stabbed his stepfather with a Samurai-style sword following a verbal altercation. The sword was part of a collection of replica items in the home.

The teen is facing a murder charge and was being held at the Juvenile Detention Center in Dalton late Sunday, Stancil said. He is expected to make his first court appearance Monday.

In October, a samurai sword was used to rob a Church’s Chicken in Kansas City. The robber went into the restaurant and demanded money from the till.

Also in October, a man carrying a samurai sword stopped a fight on a Phoenix light rail train. That same month, a 62-year-old blind man was tasered after his walking stick was mistaken by a samurai sword by a police officer.

Why there seems to a be a sudden uptick in samurai sword-related incidents is unclear.