JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – At least one person is dead and two others were injured Thursday after an apparent stabbing at a high school in eastern North Carolina, authorities said.
A student resource officer requested assistance from the Jacksonville Police Department around 7 a.m. after a physical altercation occurred between two students at Northside High School in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Police Chief Michael Yaniero said at a Thursday news conference.
One victim later died, authorities confirmed. The condition of the second victim is unknown. A teacher was also injured, but not stabbed, and received onsite medical treatment, Yaniero said.
The stabbing happened inside the school in a common area with many students witnessing the attack and a school resource officer responded within about 20 seconds of receiving word of the attack around 7 a.m., according to Yaniero.
By the end of the day, three teenagers were arrested and charged. A 16-year-old was charged with voluntary manslaughter, possession of a weapon on school property, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a school official, police said late Thursday afternoon. Two other teens, ages 15 and 16, were each charged with assault and disorderly conduct on school property.
Yaneiro declined to release their names.
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“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of this tragedy. This is an active and ongoing investigation,” Yaniero said during the conference.
Jacksonville is about 53 miles northeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, and is the most populous community of Onslow County.
Dr. Barry Collins, superintendent of Onslow County Schools, said the school district had expanded security in the last year and added a school resource officer at every school and two at some larger high schools like Northside.
Northside also recently added security cameras and swipe-in door locks but will look into further safety measures in the coming weeks, according to Collins.
“I don’t know at this time how it could’ve been done any better than the way it was handled, considering the circumstances,” Collins said. “A couple of our own staff were right there when this happened.”
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Events and activities have been canceled for the remainder of the week. Friday will be a virtual school day and school will resume in person on Tuesday with crisis counselors present, according to the school’s website.
The latest incident comes as school violence has gained national attention over the years with school shootings and cyberbullying increasing over the last decade, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
In the center’s most recent report surveying crime and safety in public schools, about 939,000 violent incidents occurred during the 2019 to 2020 school year. While only 9% of schools reported at least one physical attack or fight with a weapon, recent surveys have shown growing concern of physical safety at schools.
Education experts have called for better responses to threats of violence.
Contributing: The Associated Press