LYNN, Mass — A student was stabbed at Lynn Classical High School in Lynn on Wednesday morning, prompting a large emergency response and a lockdown, officials said.
Crews responded to the high school at 235 Ocallaghan Way and found a 16-year-old male student stabbed in the back by another student, age 17, according to police.
The student was taken to Salem Hospital with injuries that were described as non-life-threatening, a spokesperson for Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson said in a statement.
Police arrested the 17-year-old, initially charging him with Assault to Murder and Carrying a Dangerous Weapon on School Grounds.
The school was placed in lockdown while police swept the building. Video from the scene showed multiple police cruisers parked on the campus.
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School administrators informed parents what happened.
“They said, come in to get my kids, that’s it,” said Melissa Christie, whose daughter attends Lynn Classical. “There was a stabbing in school right near her classroom. She said a fight had occurred. My heart dropped.”
By 12 p.m., there was a long line of parents stretched down the sidewalk.
Jeanette Rentas was there to pick up her 15-year-old grandson.
“My grandson has anxiety and his anxiety is up to here,” she said. You know, you wake up in the morning, you send your kids to school and you just think about the education. You never think about something happening to them. But you never know.”
Unfortunately, too many parents DO know.
The Lynn Classical incident pales when compared with what happened exactly one year before -- when nineteen children and two teachers died after a shooter made his way into a Uvalde, Texas school.
Senior Christian Johnson was thinking about those larger possibilities.
“There’s a lot of innocent kids in the school,” said Johnson, who was there to pick up his cap and gown for graduation. “Look at all these parents outside. It’s sad, because they’re thinking that their kid is hurt.”
“Schools are supposed to be a place of learning, it’s supposed to be a good, public safe space,” said Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker. “Some of these issues that we’re seeing are concerning. Unfortunately, we’re seeing them across the Commonwealth.”
How did a knife get into the school in the first place? Students tell Boston 25 News there are no metal detectors on entry. But Tucker said he is not sure, at this point, whether installing them is the best way to prevent violence.
The mayor’s office called the incident “extremely concerning.”
“We share our sympathies for the victim and his family and hope for a speedy recovery,” the mayor’s office said. “The school department is in communication with the families of students at Classical. Our students’ safety is our top priority and violence on any level in our schools is unacceptable.”
An investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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