2 teenagers injured in stabbing at Queens high school; 3 students taken into custody
NEW YORK - At least two teenagers are facing charges in connection to a stabbing at a Queens high school Thursday.
It happened at around 1:15 p.m. in a stairwell at Martin Van Buren High School on Hillside Avenue, police said.
2 teenagers stabbed, 3 taken into custody
Police say one student was stabbed in the shoulder, the other in the abdomen. Both victims are 17 years old.
Neither suffered life-threatening injuries and both are listed in stable condition.
"I saw the guy coming out in the stretcher, and he was like sitting down with his shoulder patched up. And then a little bit after, I saw another guy come out with his neck down completely covered in bandages," sophomore Kyle Morgan said.
Watch Zinnia Maldonado's report
Students say the school went into lockdown for about an hour before they were dismissed around 2:15 p.m.
Kyle says students were frightened when the principal came on the loudspeaker to announce the lockdown.
"I was kinda worried because nothing like this happened before," he said.
"The principal comes in on the speakers, and he sounded scared. Like, in his voice, you could hear that he ran for that microphone, and he was like, 'Guys,' long pause, 'we're gonna have a lockdown.' And he said hard lockdown," another student said.
"Everyone was like terrified. It was a traumatic experience," another student said. "I don't feel safe. I feel like this school should have metal detectors so like we will not have something like this ever again."
Parents who spoke to CBS New York left uneasy about their children returning to the classroom.
"It's terrifying, you know. It's unfortunate situation and it's unexplainable, and I will request to city officials to get metal detectors for all the schools ... every school should get a metal detector," parent Shamin Ahmed said.
"I wanna transfer, personally," Kyle said.
Police say it's currently unclear what exactly led up to Thursday's stabbing.
Three students were taken into custody, and at least one was charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Police sources tell us that investigators not only recovered a knife at the scene, but they also found a loaded handgun on one of the victims.
In a statement, the Department of Education said in part, "The safety and wellbeing of our students is our absolute top priority. NYPD immediately responded to an incident at the school ... We will be providing additional emotional supports to any student who needs it."
Data shows troubling trend of weapons in schools
The CBS New York Investigative Team has been looking into violence in schools and has uncovered some troubling trends.
According to data from the NYPD and Chalkbeat, there were more than 1,600 knives found in New York City schools in the 2018-19 school year. Last year, that number jumped to more than 2,800.
This was one of at least 12 stabbings in New York City schools since the summer, says the NYPD, up from seven the year prior.
Data from the school safety officers' union shows a stark rise in the number of weapons found on students.
Of the 10 most dangerous schools in New York, which does not include Martin Van Buren High School, officers took 422 weapons off students since July. That's up from 157 the previous year, a 169% increase.
Camara Jackson, who runs a violence prevention program at dozens of city schools, says "the lack of knowing and having the skills to be able to mediate conflict" is behind the rise in weapons in schools.
"The transition from home to school for many of our young people are not safe. They're afraid. And then when you get in the building, if you are approached by conflict ... our students may not have the tools needed to mediate that safely," she said.
The Department of Education says principals meet with the NYPD monthly to discuss school safety, and after what happened at Martin Van Buren High, they will provide extra emotional support to students.