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'Mara is still recovering': Family identifies woman stabbed in classroom on ASU's West Valley campus

19-year-old Kaci Sloan was arrested and is facing charges including first-degree attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a classmate on Thursday.

PHOENIX — The family of the woman stabbed in a classroom on Arizona State University's West Valley campus on Thursday has identified her as Mara Daffron. 

At about 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, Daffron was allegedly stabbed by a classmate, 19-year-old Kaci Sloan, in a classroom on the campus, which is located near the intersection of 51st Avenue and Thunderbird Road in Phoenix, according to the ASU Police Department. 

Sloan was arrested after the incident and Daffron was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said on Thursday. 

Daffron underwent surgery after the attack, according to police. 

When reached by 12News on Saturday, Daffron's mother, Launi said, "Mara is still recovering." 

According to court documents, Sloan told officers she stabbed Daffron several times with a knife "without provocation or any words spoken." 

A witness told officers that Sloan was sitting at a desk when she got up and stabbed Daffron as she was entering the classroom, according to the court documents, which also say that Sloan came to class planning to hurt someone. 

"The defendant admitted she came to class to hurt somebody and was planning the attack since the night prior," the documents say. "This planning included placing the knife used in the attack in her backpack to bring to school. The defendant told detectives she knew the victim's first name but did not know anything else about her. She knew the victim from a prior class and shared a class with her this semester."

The documents also said that Sloan told officers she was choosing between two people to attack, but chose Daffron as the other person was a veteran and that Sloan "believed the victim was an easier target."   

Daffron did not know who had attacked her nor why she had been attacked, according to the documents. 

Sloan also told officers that she had thought about hurting people before, but felt "disgusted" by the thoughts, but something changed the night before the attack "that caused her to believe by hurting someone her problems 'would go away,'" according to the court documents. 

If you would like to help Daffron's family with her medical expenses, there is a GoFundMe open. You can find it and donate by clicking here.  

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