Twenty people have been injured – some with life-threatening wounds – in a stabbing spree Wednesday morning at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
Murrysville police chief Thomas Seefeld confirmed a 16-year-old male student is in custody. He said the school principal wrestled the suspect to the ground after he ran through multiple classrooms and hallways stabbing his victims with two knives.
Four of the patients have been airlifted to hospital and three were being operated on, according to Westmoreland County emergency management and hospital officials. Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville and two other hospitals – Allegheny General Hospital and UPMC-Presby – are treating patients.
The majority of victims are 14-17 year old students though one adult – a male security guard – suffered a stomach wound, Seefeld confirmed.
Police were called to the school by a resource officer about 7:13 a.m., about 15 minutes after the school doors opened for the day. Many students were not yet on campus and were alerted to the emergency while on the school bus.
MORE PHOTOS AFTER THE STORY
A witness told KDKA the stabbings happened in the science wing of the building in multiple class rooms and hallways.
The suspect, who hasn’t been identified, was being questioned by detectives, but just before 10:30a.m. the student was driven in a police car from Murrysville Police Station reportedly to a local hospital to be treated for a stab wound to his arm.
Officials do not yet know a motive or whether the suspect targeted certain students. Seefeld confirmed the 16-year-old used two knife in the early morning attack.
The police chief said he was finally accosted by the school principal Sam King who heroically tackled the knife-wielding teen.
‘There was a school principal who had contact with the juvenile,’ he said.
The school resource officer who called 911, also a Murrysville police officer, then handcuffed the suspect and awaited backup. Neither adults were harmed, however a security guard was stabbed in the abdomen, Seefeld said.
Earlier, the father of a senior told KDKA that his daughter said a 10th grade student was responsible.
He said a witness set off the fire alarm after the attack in an effort to clear the school.
‘The student who pulled the alarm was part of the incident, witnessed the incident so it a good thing to do on his part,’ the parent said.
He said his daughter had been evacuated to the football field and then the middle school. Parents are now picking up their children.
Valley News Dispatch City Editor Matt Provenzo described the scene shortly after 7 a.m. as he was dropping his ninth-grader son off at the high school.
He told to Triblive.com dozens of students were streaming from the school.
‘You could hear that the fire alarm had been pulled,’ Provenzo said.
Another father, Morris Huntley, said his daughter called him in a panic after the attack.
‘She was just frantic. I had never heard her talk like that, that’s why I just got off the phone and got down here as fast as I could,’ Huntley said.
Officials confirmed 20 victims were hurt in the early morning attack, some suffering minor scrapes and cuts to extremities. Four victims are in critical condition and at least five more students have serious stab wounds. Authorities are working to notify the parents of injured students.
Forbes Hospital said they had received 8 victims – including one adult – and that other victims have been taken to nearby hospitals.
A spokesman from Forbes said three patients were in the operating room. Additional patients suffered serious stab wounds but not all are scheduled for surgery currently.
Dr Chris Kaufmann said: ‘None of these are superficial wounds, they are all significant stab wounds, every one. They are all torso stab wounds, chest, back abdomen, flank.’
He said he didn’t know the condition of the adult.
Citing ‘a critical incident,’ the school district said the high school students and middle school students nearby were ‘secure,’ and that elementary school had been canceled for the day.
‘Additional information will be released as soon as possible. Please keep our campus clear of traffic,’ the district said in a statement posted on their website shortly after 8 a.m.
Streets around the school were sealed off and police were checking the school room by room.
Police cars and ambulances swarmed the school and three medical helicopters were on site ready to transport any of the injured.
#BREAKING: Murrysville Police at the home of teen suspect in Franklin Regional HS stabbings. http://t.co/JZT7kYYb1t pic.twitter.com/SxV7XGkWY2
— KDKA (@KDKA) April 9, 2014
Suspect: The stabbing suspect is seen being driven from the Murrysville police station before 10:30a.m. today
Evacuation: Students at Franklin Regional High School were evacuated after a stabbing left 20 people injured Wednesday morning
Injuries: Police confirmed 20 victims were injured in the early morning attack, some suffering minor scrapes and cuts to extremities
Victims: Four of the patients have been airlifted to hospital with critical stab wounds, according to Westmoreland County emergency management
Stabbing: At least six people have been injured in a reported stabbing Wednesday morning at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Emergency responders are at the school, pictured
Emergency response: A witness told KDKA the stabbings happened in the science wing of the building in multiple class rooms and hallways
Worried: Parents lined up to collect their children after the stabbings
Families: A pair of women walk arm-in-arm off the campus of the Franklin Regional School District, where several people were stabbed
Scene: One of the patients has been airlifted to hospital, according to Westmoreland County emergency management. Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville is treating several of the other patients
Busy: Police cars and ambulances lined the streets around the school
Panic: A police officer speaks with a worries parent outside Franklin Regional High School after reports of stabbing injuries in Murrysville, Pennsylvania in this still image taken from video provided by WPXI
School: A woman walks onto the campus of the Franklin Regional School District where several people were stabbed at Franklin Regional High School
