NEW YORK — A Long Island high school student was arrested after allegedly stabbing a classmate during a fight in the hallway, and the violence forced the school to be closed in the middle of the day.
The 12-year-old pulled out a knife and stabbed a 13-year-old boy in the upper leg amid a fight inside Lindenhurst High School on 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 that both a school official and a police officer had to apply tourniquets to stop the bleeding, Assistant 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 believed to have been used was said to be about six inches long. It is not clear how he got to the school.
Anxious parents used their cell phones after rushing to school as their children were still inside the building, locked in their classrooms.
“He was able to tell me there was blood everywhere and that’s it,” said a father who spoke to his 13-year-old son about what happened. “You send your kids to school thinking they’re going to have a good day, and then this happens.”
Many students were escorted out by their relieved parents after the lockdown of about an hour was lifted.
As for the students, they walked away after witnessing an incident that they said was quite scary.
“They were fighting, yelling, but no one thought I would pull out a knife,” student Andy Garcia said.
In a statement, the Lindenhurst school superintendent said that “safety is a top priority” at the school. But the parents added that the school has had a problem with bullying and harassment on social media.
It was not clear if those things had anything to do with the incident on Monday.
