PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A 14-year-old was charged after two students were stabbed at Countryside High School in Clearwater, according to police.
Authorities told WFLA.com the stabbing happened around 11:24 a.m. at Countryside High School in Clearwater. About two hours after the incident, authorities said both students were listed in “stable condition.”
The victims were identified as two males. One is in 9th grade and one is in 11th grade. One of the students was released from the hospital Thursday evening, police said.
The suspect is a 9th-grade boy with no history of discipline in school, according to Clearwater Chief Eric Gandy. He is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, according to police.
Immediately after the incident, school resource officers had the suspect at gunpoint within two minutes.
The suspect was taken into custody. Local officials said there is no threat to other students at the school and the parents of both victims have been notified.
Officers began treating both victims immediately, and EMS was requested.
“Parts of the school are crime scenes, and students are being held in their classes to preserve those scenes,” a Clearwater police spokesman said.
Parents were immediately notified once the victims were identified.
CHS parent Jonathan Barraza says his daughter called him from school saying she’d witnessed the stabbing.
“She said she was walking from one class to go to the next, as she was walking, she heard the altercation and once they started, they pulled out a knife,” Barraza said.
Many parents rushed to the school to figure out what was going on.
“It’s scary, it’s really scary because you don’t know sometimes your child goes out and you don’t know if they’ll come back in,” said Clementine Miles, another CHS parent.
According to Superintendent Kevin Hendrick and Chief Gandy, the stabbing occurred in the main concourse of the school after the first lunch period.
WFLA’s Annie Mapp spoke to parents at Countryside High School who were told to pick up their students early due to an incident that happened at the school.
As of this report, the motive of the stabbing is unknown. The type of knife is not being released at this time.
Officers are working to figure out the appropriate charges.
Authorities will remain on scene for several more hours, as they conduct additional interviews and evidence.
Officers assisted with regular dismissal on Thursday at 1:45 p.m. Students have been reunited with their parents and families.
“A key piece of any response like this is a unified command, we had that very quickly in this instance,” Chief Gandy said.
The school will resume as normal on Friday.