PHOENIX — After being accused of trying to bring a box cutter into Maryvale High School in Phoenix days after a student’s murder, a state lawmaker and her daughter are denying the allegations.

Arizona Rep. Lydia Hernandez and her daughter, Cassandra, were accused by the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) of trying to bring a box cutter into the high school inside a bag on Monday to test the school’s weapon detection system.

Lydia Hernandez represents Arizona’s 24th Legislative District and is the governing board president for the Cartwright Elementary School District. Cassandra Hernandez is a Cartwright Elementary School District board member and an alum of Maryvale High School.  

In statements released separately on Friday, they refuted PXU’s claims.

“Phoenix Union misrepresented what happened that day, and an independent investigation needs to occur to clear my name and hold those responsible for these lies to account,” Lydia Hernandez said.

Cassandra Hernandez claimed she was not at the school when the incident happened.

“I was working an eight-hour shift Aug. 25 at EOS Fitness at the time of this alleged incident and have the time cards and video footage from my employer to prove it,” she said.

The alleged box cutter incident came less than a week after 16-year-old Michael Montoya II was killed in a classroom stabbing on Aug. 20. Another student, 16-year-old Chris Aguilar, was arrested and has been charged with first-degree murder.

Details from PXU on attempt to bring box cutter into Maryvale High School

In a social media post on Wednesday, PXU said a woman, believed to be Cassandra Hernandez, went through the weapons detectors at Maryvale High School on Monday while Lydia Hernandez was behind her filming.

The system detected a metal object and the school had the woman they believed to be Cassandra go through the detectors a second time.

After the detector alerted again, a bag belonging to the woman was searched and the box cutter allegedly was found inside.

According to PXU, Lydia Hernandez then claimed this was a test of the school’s weapons detection system.

The district said the box cutter was confiscated and both Lydia Hernandez and the woman believed to be her daughter were escorted off school property.

Lydia and Cassandra Hernandez dispute PXU’s claims about box cutter incident

In response to PXU’s claims, Lydia Hernandez said she was at the school after being contacted by constituents, who were there trying to get answers after the deadly stabbing and were concerned that they were being detained.

She said a metal object was found in a bag belonging to a woman in the group she met at the school, not her daughter’s bag, as PXU claimed, that she never claimed to be testing the school’s security system and that she didn’t film anything.

“I call on Phoenix Union High School to release the surveillance video that will show I did not attempt to bring a box cutter, let alone any type of weapon, into the school, nor attempt to test the security systems,” Lydia Hernandez said in her release.

Cassandra Hernandez said she was not contacted by PXU before news of the incident was made public. She is now calling for PXU Superintendent Thea Andrade to resign and for an independent investigation into the incident.

“The reckless action by Phoenix Union created a hostile environment for me as people now believe I attempted to bring a weapon onto Maryvale campus,” Cassandra Hernandez said in her release. “I will not rest until my good name is restored and those who lied to the public are held to account.”

After the women issued their denials, PXU issued the following statement:  

The Phoenix Union High School District continues our internal investigation into what took place at Maryvale High School on Monday, August 25. We have filed a police report and law enforcement has initiated a separate investigation into the matter. We do not have any new or additional information to share at this time.

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