A student at a Long Island middle school was arrested after stabbing a teen classmate during a fight in the hallway — and the violence forced the school into a lockdown in the middle of the day, worrying parents.
The 12-year-old boy pulled a knife and stabbed a 13-year-old boy in the upper leg amid the scuffle inside Lindenhurst Middle School Monday, Suffolk County police confirmed. The injured student was quickly airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, while the alleged attacker was arrested.
The stab wound was so severe both a school official and a police officer had to apply tourniquets to stop the bleeding, Deputy Inspector Sean Beran said. The victim was listed in critical but stable condition.
Police have not yet said what may have sparked the fight. The knife that was believed to have been used was said to be about six inches long. It’s unclear how it got into the school.
Anxious parents worked their cellphones after rushing to the school, as their kids were still inside the building, under lockdown in their classrooms.
“He was able to tell me there was blood everywhere and that’s pretty much it,” said one father who spoke to his 13-year-old son about what happened. “You send your kids off to school thinking they’re gonna have a good day and then this occurs.”
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Many students were escorted out by their relieved parents after the roughly one-hour lockdown was lifted.
News
As for the students, they walked away having witnessed an incident they said was quite scary.
“They were fighting, screaming, but nobody thought he would pull out a knife,” said student Andy Garcia.
In a statement, the Lindenhurst school superintendent said that “safety and security is a top priority” at the school. But parents added the school has had a problem with bullying and social media harassment.
It was not clear if those things had anything to do with Monday’s incident.
