Security has stepped up at Murrow High School after a student was stabbed during school hours. Erica Byfield reporting.
A 15-year-old student has been accused of attempted murder in the stabbing of a classmate inside a Brooklyn high school a day ago, authorities said Wednesday.
The student, whose name has not been released, also faces charges of assault with intent to cause serious physical injury and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly knifing a classmate in the stomach around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in a hallway of Edward Murrow High School in Midwood. The victim is expected to survive.
The union that represents school safety agents told NBC New York that the school does not have metal detectors, which many parents asked about in the wake of the stabbing.
In response, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that, "I’m a believer in scanning to keep school’s safe, but as you know, there’s a balance. Because there’s a large number of parents that push back on scanning."
Adams added that police and education leaders were looking at which schools need non-intrusive scanners. The Department of Education says that the decision falls under the purview of the principals, who can opt for scanning to take place full-time, part-time or randomly.
"Someone’s 15 year old was stabbed. And this stabbing was preventable," said Mona Davids, a co-founder of the NYC School Safety Coalition who would like to see more scanning in schools. "Refusing to listen to parent concerns over the past few years when it comes to scanning has put us in a situation where we are today."
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Students at the school were scanned for weapons and contraband as they arrived for classes on Wednesday.
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Some believe another part of the solution is more school safety agents — but as of Wednesday, there were about 2,000 vacant positions. A new class of 140 safety agents starts before the end of 2023, but before they get to work, they have to master 17 weeks of training.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen knives were recovered from the high school Tuesday afternoon during routine security sweeps following the incident, according to a school safety source. Also confiscated: seven pepper sprays, two stun guns, a box cutter and possible illicit drugs, the source said.
No other students were injured in the attack, a motive for which remains unclear. Investigators are looking into whether Tuesday's stabbing may have been gang-related.
The investigation is ongoing.
