Several news sources have reported a mass stabbing at a public high school just east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Allegedly, the attacker was a 16-yr-old sophomore at the school, Franklin Regional Senior High, armed with two kitchen knives. According to one report, the young male was running through the crowded school halls before class, slashing and stabbing at anyone in his way.
In the mass stabbing, at least 20 students and a security officer were injured. While some of the wounds—mostly to the chest and abdomen area of the victims—were considered critical, thus far all injured are still alive. Several were flown into area hospitals to be rushed to immediate surgery, while other victims are being processed with a more traditional approach (including CT scans and x-rays to determine injury extent and surgical need). All the injured students are between the ages of fifteen and seventeen, with some injury to the school’s security officer.
According to news reports, Franklin High’s assistant principal can be credited with ending the attack. He tackled the armed sixteen-year-old to the ground, disabling him until the police were able to take him into custody and remove him from the scene (the student was also treated for injuries to his hands). At the time of this article, the student’s name has yet to be released, but it has been released that he has been charged and will be tried for the mass stabbing as an adult.
The school has been closed off as a crime scene, and will remain so for the next few days. All students not sent off for medical attention were transported to other schools to be picked up by their families. Students were being reunited with their anxious parents as early as 10:30 this morning.
What does this say about the need for security in schools, armed or otherwise?
Vid still from ABC News report courtesy of ABCNews.com
H/T to Chelsea J. Carter, Ashley Fantz, & Pamela Brown of CNN via cnn.com and to Alyssa Newcomb, Ben Gittleson & Kami Dimitrova of ABC News via Good Morning America
