A 16-year-old student in Fairfax County, Virginia, was severely injured after being stabbed by another student inside West Potomac High School, as per police. The teen suspect has been arrested and will be charged with malicious wounding.
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According to the Fairfax County Police Department, and reported by the New York Post, the incident took place at West Potomac High School on Wednesday, April 23. At around 9:40 a.m., local time, a fight broke out between three students. One of them, the suspect, allegedly stabbed one of the students, who was rushed to a local hospital, having suffered serious injuries.
According to Police Chief Kevin Davis, however, the victim is in stable condition and will recover from his injuries. The alleged stabber, who remains unidentified, was arrested and charged with malicious wounding. Police were able to recover the knife used during the incident from the scene.
The third student was also questioned by police. However, according to NBC Washington, Chief Davis did not describe said student as "in custody," as he believed no charges would be filed against them.
Currently, the incident is under investigation.
School Response
West Potomac High School remained open and students resumed classes after the stabbing, as per Fairfax County Public School Superintendent Michelle Reid.
"While there's a sense obviously of shock that this would happen, I'm very proud of the response of our staff in this incident," Reid said, as per the Post.
As per NBC Washington, however, reported that many worried parents rushed to the school to pick up their children. Among them is Joanne Boice, whose son reportedly witnessed the stabbing.
"He just said he was walking down the hall, a kid got stabbed by two boys. He was really shaken up, and he's like, 'Please come and get me,'" Boice told the outlet. "He's not one to get spooked easily, so to hear, you know, 'Mom, please come get me. I'm a mess.' ... I work in Maryland, 45 minutes away. I jumped in the car, and I got here in about 30 minutes."
Other parents criticized the school's response. Reportedly, they weren't informed about the incident by Fairfax County Public Schools for about 30 minutes. Moreover, parents criticized the school's cellphone policies, saying that they would have found out about the incident way sooner.
