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Educator speaks out after stabbing at Castor Gardens Middle School in Northeast Philadelphia

Castor Gardens Middle School employee speaks out after stabbing at Northeast Philadelphia campus
Castor Gardens Middle School employee speaks out after stabbing at Northeast Philadelphia campus 02:08

A Castor Gardens Middle School staff member is recounting the terrifying stabbing on Tuesday afternoon that has some students still shaken up.

Classroom assistant Rasheima Hainey is emotionally drained after she said she witnessed an 11-year-old boy pull out a steak knife before stabbing two people.

"At first, when he took it out, he pretty much showed the kids that he had it," Hainey said, "and once they seen it, you know, everybody jumped up and started running out the room, 'he has a knife, he has a knife.'"

In an exclusive interview with CBS News Philadelphia, Hainey said the ordeal happened during what started out as a normal day in an emotional support class. She said her first instinct was to protect the students by notifying other staff members that a student was armed.

"It was pretty scary, but I was more so worried about the children," Hainey said.

Hainey said she saw a teacher's aide getting stabbed in the classroom while trying to take the knife away. She said another aide was stabbed in the hallway, where the armed student began chasing people.

"He was like banging on the doors to get in," Hainey said. "I seen one of the room doors like crack open, and I yelled to them, 'Don't open the door. He has a knife.' So they're, at this point, they're struggling to get him off of the door. So, it's like a yanking match back and forth. And then he finally let the door go."

She said the nightmare ended after police found the boy hiding behind a bookshelf in a classroom.

"I wish a lot more could have been done to prevent this incident itself," Hainey said. "But you know, it happened, and hopefully they can learn from it and, you know, it won't happen again."

The president of Philadelphia's teachers union, Arthur Steinberg, said on Wednesday that the incident "really should not have occurred." 

"It's due to really an epic administrative failure at the school level. The details that I have received from our members are pretty disturbing," Steinberg said.

Hainey said the stabbing appeared to be unprovoked. Like many, she's wondering how the student was able to get into the school with a knife.

"If it comes to an instance where they're going to bring him back, if it comes to it, I'm ready to resign," Hainey said.

For now, she's going back to work, determined to press forward.

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