Teenager slashed in the face outside M.S. 2 in Brooklyn, authorities say
NEW YORK - The NYPD is giving bulletproof vests to school safety officers amid startling new statistics about weapons confiscated on campus.
Just Friday morning, a teenager was slashed outside of a school in Brooklyn.
NYPD Youth Response teams patrolled outside Parkside Preparatory Academy in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn after a 13-year-old slashed a student in the face before classes started. Police sources tell us the victim is 14 years old.
Neither police nor the Department of Education was anxious to talk about the incident, the third school slashing since the beginning of the month. On Valentine's Day, a 12-year-old girl was slashed at Pathways College Prep School in Hollis, Queens. On Feb. 1, two 17-year-olds were stabbed during class at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village.
One Parkside parent said he's alarmed.
"It's very sad. That shouldn't happen in school," Sherwin Frasier said.
"So are you concerned about weapons in the school?" CBS New York's Marcia Kramer said.
"Yes, of course. Because it shouldn't be. It's kids. It shouldn't happen. So I'm very much concerned," Frasier said.
He should be concerned because, according to the school safety union, agents are confiscating an amazing number of weapons and dangerous instruments. Since July 1, 2023, some 3,172 weapons have been recovered.
That includes:
- 7 firearms
- 130 stun guns
- 13 BB guns
- 1,466 knives
- 353 boxcutters and razors
- 1,202 other dangerous implements
The new weapons totals come as the NYPD suddenly decided to honor a years-old promise going back to the Bloomberg years to give safety agents bulletproof vests.
"Then-NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly promised vests for school safety agents assigned to outside school patrol. That was years ago. It's about time NYC kept its promise," said Gregory Floyd, head of the school safety agents union.
After the Parkside stabbing, one 13-year-old was rushed to Kings County Hospital and the other was taken in for questioning.
Not everyone is happy about the decision to give bulletproof vests to school safety agents. A spokesperson for the Urban Youth Collaborative says "the Adams administration is funding the militarization of our schools."