Middletown Renzo Gracie Academy offering free classes for kids after child’s murder
Children aged 4 to 14 are being offered free self-defense classes at the Middletown Renzo Gracie Academy in New Jersey, after a AbbieGail “Abbie” Smith, age 11, was murdered by a neighbor.
Smith’s upstairs neighbor, 18-year-old Andreas Erazo, has been charged in the death after he stabbed her in the neck.
The child was reported missing by her mother on July 12. The following day her body was discovered on the roof of her apartment building.
An officer with the Keansburg Police Department will demonstrate self-defense techniques that the police use. Instructors at the academy will also demonstrate how to defend yourself once the struggle goes to the ground.
Classes are being taught Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The academy is located at 204 Harmony Road in Middletown.
