Two teenage girls were stabbed during a fight with a 17-year-old male at Charlotte Amalie High School on Friday afternoon. According to police reports, a female student attempted to break up a fight occurring between another female and a male student when the male student attacked and stabbed both.
The male suspect is in police custody and both female students, aged 15 and 16, were taken to the Schneider Regional Medical Center, said Melody Rames, V.I. Police Department public information officer.
Rames said the female students were taken to the hospital for treatment of gashes to their forearms and that one student also had a knife wound to the back of her neck.
All injuries were nonfatal and both students are in stable condition, said Ananta Pancham, Department of Education spokeswoman.
The fight started between noon and 12:30 p.m., Pancham said, when apparently a disagreement started near building B on the CAHS campus. The argument quickly escalated into violence.
The area between building A and B is near the gymnasium and heavily populated by school monitors and staff, Pancham said. Principal Carmen Howell informed Pancham that school monitors broke up the fight and then alerted school officials about the incident, Pancham said, adding that more information will be forthcoming after the school monitors are interviewed next week.
Juvenile Investigation Bureau detectives are investigating the stabbing, according to a police press release. Criminal Investigation Bureau detectives and Forensic Technicians were also involved in the investigation of this case, Rames said.
Pancham said school protocol after similar incidents consists of separating the students, seeking appropriate medical attention and then notifying the students’ parents to pick up their children. After a fight, school officials schedule a disciplinary hearing which involves the district superintendent, school principal, guidance counselor, parents and the students involved.
Students found guilty of fighting are faced with a range of disciplinary actions, which include suspension, probation and expulsion.
The school district has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to students carrying or using weapons on campus, Pancham said. The school has random searches for weapons and conducted one Friday morning, Pancham said.
Pancham said two officers from the school security bureau are present on campus at all times. The officers are tasked with patrolling the campus and reporting any suspicious activity. The school also uses its monitor system and surveillance cameras as preemptive measures to combat school violence.
The school monitors operate on a walkie-talkie system and communicate with school administrators throughout the day, Pancham said. "We try to be proactive when it comes to school safety."
The administrative hearing usually takes place the following Monday after a school fight but, because of Memorial Day, it will probably be Tuesday or Wednesday in this case, Pancham said.
Counseling services will be offered to students traumatized by the violent incident, she said.