Sept. 2 (UPI) — Authorities said a juvenile was in police custody Thursday following a stabbing at a Jacksonville, N.C., high school that resulted in one student dead and another wounded.
Authorities and officials told reporters during a Thursday press conference that police were dispatched to Northside High School at 7:01 a.m. on a report that two students were stabbed during a physical altercation in a common area of the facility.
Both victims were transported to Naval Hospital with one succumbing to their injuries while the conduction of the other victim was unknown, they said.
No identifying information about the student in police custody nor the victims was released as they are all minors, but police said the deceased student’s next of kin has been notified.
An unidentified teacher who was near the incident was also injured, but not stabbed, Jacksonville police chief Mike Yaniero said.
Little was disclosed about the circumstances surrounding the stabbing, including what kind of weapon was used, but authorities said it was quickly brought to an end by a school resource officer who was on the scene within 20 seconds, potentially preventing further casualties.
“I don’t know at this time how it could have been done any better than the way it was handled considering the circumstances,” Onslow County Schools Superintendent Barry Collins said. “We had a couple of our staff who were right there when it happened.”
Collins said they have put a lot of resources into school safety and security over the past year, including ensuring there is at least one SRO at every school and two at some of their larger high schools
“There are other measures that we’ve taken, in terms of the swipe in door locks, cameras and the ring-in, but there … probably are some other things we’re going to have to look at and those are the types of things we’ll be looking at in the next days and weeks,” he said.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement that he has spoken with Yaniero and has offered state assistance to help with “the aftermath of this tragedy.”
“Our prayers are with all the students, educators families and the community,” he said.
Officials said classes were canceled Thursday following the incident and students will attend school virtually Friday with teachers still required to come to Northside High School but classes will resume as normal on Tuesday following the holiday Monday.
