Woman stabs classmate in anger-management class

Talk about a teachable moment.

A 19-year-old Bellevue woman has been charged with second-degree assault after she allegedly stabbed a classmate Saturday during an anger-management class.

Bellevue police say Faribah Maradiaga "blew up out of control" and stabbed the classmate's arm and shoulder several times after the two women exchanged words.

Police said Maradiaga, who already has a pending assault charge, told them that the other woman had threatened her first, according to charging documents.

Maradiaga walked into a classroom on the Bellevue College campus, where a court services agency rents space for the anger management class, around 9 a.m. Saturday while a video on anger management was being shown, according to the charges. Maradiaga started complaining about the movie and disrupting the class, according to the documents, when the victim told Maradiaga "the video was good and to give it a chance."

Maradiaga, who was sitting two rows behind the victim, then stood up and started talking "trash" before pulling out a knife with a 3-inch blade and stabbing the other woman, police and prosecutors say.

The charges say Maradiaga then threatened to kill the victim's family.

Maradiaga is being held on $50,000 bail in King County Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 25.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

Information in this article, originally published Oct. 15, 2010, was clarified Oct. 15, 2010. A previous version of this story implied that the stabbing occurred in a Bellevue College class. The incident occurred in a college classroom rented by a court services agency.