New York Daily News – by MICHAEL WALSH
Twenty people were injured during a stabbing rampage at a Pennsylvania high school early Wednesday, authorities said.
A 16-year-old male sophomore brandishing two knives spread terror before the school day could begin in several classrooms and a hallway on the first floor of Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville — a typically peaceful community about 18 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Nineteen students and a school police officer were injured, officials said.
The officer subdued the knifeman with the help of the assistant principal.
The seven teenagers who suffered life-threatening stab wounds are expected to survive.
“But I do want to stress the critical nature of their injuries,” said Mark Rubino, chief medical officer for Forbes Hospital. “They are deep, penetrating injuries.”
Rubino explained that the slashes appeared to follow a pattern. The knifeman aimed for the lower abdomen causing severe damage to internal organs.
“The critical nature of these injuries really demanded an acute response,” Rubino said.
Most of the other injuries were “stab wounds to extremities,” according to Dan Stevens, deputy emergency management coordinator for Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety. Others were scrapes and bruises.
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene in Murrysville after the first call came into 911 about 7:13 a.m.
A male suspect, who was treated for a minor hand wound, is in custody and being interrogated by police. Investigators have not determined a motive.
He has not been identified yet.
Murrysville police Chief Thomas Seefeld described the scene as vast and said it could take several days to process.
Seefeld noted how important it was that a student, Nate Scimio, pulled a fire alarm after the violence broke out. It created a chaos and spurred students to flee the school to safety.
“The fire alarm being pulled probably assisted with the evacuation of the school and that was a good thing that that was done,” he said.
High school students were evacuated to the middle school after the news broke. Parents were then told to report to the town’s elementary school to reunite with their kids.
Some parents learned that their children were so badly wounded they needed to be airlifted from the scene.
“We have 8 patients being taken into Forbes. Their ages range from 15 to 60,” Jesse Miller, communication officer for Forbes Hospital, told the Daily News. “I can also confirm that we have another patient being taken to our parent hospital, Allegheny General Hospital.”
Others were brought to UPMC Presbyterian.
Morris Hundley, the father of a high school student, moved to Murrysville so he could raise his daughter in a safe environment. He told CBS Pittsburgh he spoke to her daughter over the phone. Her best friend was among the victims.
“She was just frantic. I never heard her talk like that,” he said to the station. “That’s why I got off the phone right away and came here as soon as I could.”
Hundley added said that his first order of business is to give his daughter a big hug as soon as he sees her.
The scene is reportedly secure and currently on lockdown.
The school district posted the following statement on its website:
“A critical incident has occurred at the high school. All elementary schools are cancelled, the middle school and high school students are secure. Additional information will be released as soon as possible. Please keep our campus clear of traffic.”
Counselling services will be available for the entire school community and the high school will be closed for the next few days.
“We appreciate the thoughts, prayers from our local community as well as across the nation,” said superintendent Gennaro Piraino.
The FBI is assisting local law enforcement with the investigation into this incident, particularly into the suspect’s background.
mwalsh@nydailynews.com
With News Wire Services
Now the first thing after the injured were stabilize that I would be doing is to be checking for any blood transferable deseases like aids, hep. or other things like that.
AMERICA NEEDS KNIFE CONTROL! We must pass laws banning all knives immediately!
It just goes to show, when a person is intent on harming others, a gun is not needed. A gun is a tool, so are knives, hammers, machetes, etc. I cannot wait to see how the “facts” roll out in this story.
A school again. hmmm…I find it hard to believe anything that the MSM says any more about these kinds of attacks. Twenty people stabbed sounds like a violent, bloody mess, but the kid in the car is wearing what appears to be a clean white shirt.
It could be one of those plastic cover things to preserve the evidence
In the last video on the page the officer says at 00:29 “the actor is in custody” Can some one grab that before it is changed?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/stabbings-reported-pennsylvania-high-school-article-1.1750425