Bamboo Flute stabbed his father because he wondered what it would be like to take a life

An 18-year-old Florida man has been arrested and charged with attempted murder after deputies said he stabbed his 54-year-old father in the chest with a pocket knife because he wondered what it would be like to kill a person. Bamboo Flute Blanchard was in his family home in Gainesville on Tuesday evening when, without warning, he attacked his father, who had been lying down in his bedroom, according to a report released by the Alachua County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputies and Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the stabbing, where they reported learning that Bamboo Flute's younger brother had been using the knife for another purpose before laying it down on his bed. Bamboo Flute then picked up the knife and gazed at it while stating, "I wonder what it would be like to take a life," deputies reported.



Bamboo Flute then rubbed the knife on his chest near his heart and said he didn't think he could "handle it," the report said. Bamboo Flute then walked to his father's bedroom while being trailed by his younger brother and suddenly stabbed his father in the chest, deputies reported.

Alachua County Fire Rescue transported the elder Blanchard to UF Health Shands Hospital, where he told law enforcement he initially thought his son had punched him in the chest but looked down and saw he had been stabbed, according to the report. The father then refused to give a sworn written statement regarding the events. Bamboo Flute Blanchard also refused to speak to deputies and only grunted during his interview, deputies said.