16-year-old charged after stabbing fellow student multiple times in school bathroom, police say
FORT LEE, New Jersey (WABC) -- A 16-year-old has been charged after a student was stabbed multiple times inside a school bathroom at Fort Lee High School on Tuesday.
It happened around 11 a.m. at the school on Lemoine Avenue.
Several students say it all started with two students pranking each other days earlier.
Both the suspect and the victim had detention over the weekend. One pulled the other's pants down, and then it was reciprocated, officials said.
By Tuesday, it escalated to a stabbing in the bathroom.
Officials said another student may have helped hold down the victim.
The victim was stabbed multiple times with a knife in the neck, abdomen, back and arm, causing serious injuries, police said.
Police said the suspect, a 16-year-old fellow student, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon as a juvenile and being helped at the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center.
"What I heard was one of the kids pulled the other kid's pants down and the kid got mad...and it led to an altercation in the bathroom, that's what I heard from my friend," Angel Serrano Lugo said.
The students say the victim was found bleeding outside a boys' restroom after he was cornered by four other students inside and stabbed.
"He said they stabbed me, please help me, help me," Lugo said.
Lugo described how he tried to apply pressure to his friend's wounds. Thankfully, help arrived quickly.
"I just want to get him in my arms, to be honest with you. Just nervous, nerve-wracking," the victim's aunt Marjee Palcios said.
"He was coughing, girls were crying, everybody was trying to help my friend," Lugo said.
Students flooded their parents with panicked messages as the district tried to assure families the rest of the students were safe.
The school sent a message to parents about the incident but said there was no longer a threat. They said the school officials and law enforcement agencies were in communication to make sure that all students and staff remained safe.
The incident prompted a lockdown, but students were dismissed early around 2 p.m. with heavy police presence.
Parents said there are no metal detectors at the school and the fact that a student was able to get a knife inside is disturbing.
"It's mind-boggling to me and every school should have a metal detector, this is a perfect example of kids having animosity and wanting revenge and stuff like this can happen," said parent Doris Lugo.
The Fort Lee Police Department says that out of an abundance of caution, there will be an extra police presence in and around the high school on Wednesday, however they say there is no further threat that they are aware of at this time, and no other suspects are being sought.
Fort Lee school counselors will be available to any students or staff members in need of support.
Lugo said he and his friend were supposed to take the SAT on Wednesday.
The victim is in critical but stable condition, officials said.
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