Violence in schools across the country has become a phenomenon that needs to be rectified immediately. With dozens of students being injured and/or killed, parents continue to struggle with the harsh reality that they may get a chilling phone call. It is now being reported that a stabbing in a Utah high school has left students injured and the media in a circus.
According to USA Today, a straight-A student at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah has stabbed five students in the school's boys locker room before turning the knife on his self. The 16-year-old student, whose identity is remained secret because of his age, has been taken into custody.
The site reports that the school was placed on lockdown after the incident and authorities being able to assess the situation.
Orem Police Chief Gary Giles tells the outlet that shortly before 8 a.m. local time, a 16-year-old student stabbed five students in the locker room and then stabbed himself. Staff members confronted the student, boxing him into a small area, before a school resource police officer already in the building arrived on the scene.
The officer reportedly jolted the student with a taser gun before taking him into custody.
"There are a lot of different things we need to look at for a motive," Giles said. "Was it a fight, is it somebody upset with somebody, is there more to it? And I don't know the answer to that."
Although none of the student's injuries were considered life threatening, all five victims including the suspect were taken to area hospitals. The stab wounds, made with a knife with a blade of about three inches, were mostly to the neck and upper torso of the victims.
FOX News Latino reports that Orem police posted a letter online they said was from the parents of the teen, apologizing. They said none of the victims had done anything to hurt their son and the stabbings were not racially or ethnically motivated.
"We are at a loss to express how deeply sorry we are for the pain and injury caused," the letter says.
District spokeswoman Kimberly Bird said the suspect was a new sophomore student with excellent grades who had been home-schooled prior to this school year. He had no prior disciplinary issues.
As a result of the incident, Bird revealed that metal detectors may become a reality at the high school. Bird also shares that the attack could have taken place in the school parking lot in which metal detectors would have had no bearing at the time.
"We hate the idea of metal detectors in our schools, just for the look and feel, and yet our kids safety is our most important priority," she said. "We need to have safe environments and safe schools."
There is no word on what charges the 16-year-old suspect will be facing.
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