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Video Shows Fatal School Fight

Teen Fatally Stabbed At Coral Gables High School

Posted: 10:34 am MST November 10, 2009Updated: 10:43 am MST November 10, 2009

The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office on Tuesday released surveillance video and a taped confession in the case of a teen's fatal stabbing at his high school, WPLG in Miami reported.

Juan Carlos Rivera, 17, died after being stabbed Sept. 15 on the campus of Coral Gables Senior High School. Another student, 17-year-old Andy Rodriguez, faces an adult charge of second-degree murder in Rivera's death. Rodriguez's family has claimed that he acted in self-defense.

Video | Photos: Slideshow

The videos paint a pictures of two teenagers in a macho fight that ended in a killing. The school surveillance video showed clearly the animosity between Rivera, a sophomore, and Rodriguez, a senior. The bumps and shoves between the teens spilled into the courtyard of the high school.

The video does not clearly show the knife Rodriguez allegedly pulled or the actual stabbing of Rivera. A surveillance camera inside the school showed Rodriguez running, pulling off his shirt. The cameras in the courtyard show horrified students.

Another video shows police interviewing Rodriguez after the stabbing. The story Rodriguez told a detective in Spanish later that day revealed days and possibly weeks of bad blood between the boys and that Rivera was not only getting rides to school from Rodriguez's girlfriend but taunting him, as well.

"Do you know of any reason he would bump into you? Was it accidental or intentional?" the detective asked.

"Maybe it was an accident, but the way he looks at me in school is not an accident," Rodriguez said in Spanish.

Rodriguez said he found the knife on the streets and took it to school that day just in case.

"Why would you have to bring a knife to school?" the detective asked.

"Because if he attacks me first," Rodriguez said in Spanish.

The surveillance video and taped confession have become evidence in the case.

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