2 Students Stabbed At Countryside High School; School Resumes Friday

CLEARWATER, FL — Two male students were stabbed at Countryside High School Thursday by a ninth-grade boy who attends the school, authorities said.

One of the injured students is in ninth grade and the other is in 11th grade. They were taken to local hospitals, where both are reported in stable condition, according to Clearwater Police Chief Michael Walek.

During a news conference Thursday, Walek described the response to the crisis as "by the textbook" on the part of both police and school personnel.

Even the more than 1,500 students at the high school inherently knew what to do, said Pinellas County School Superintendent Kevin Kendrick.

"The faculty said the students were fantastic," Hendrick said. "They did everything appropriately."

Walek said the stabbings took place in the main concourse of the high school just after the first lunch period, a time when the concourse is filled with students.

"Our school resource officers reported that they had two victims stabbed at 11:24 a.m. and, in just two minutes, another report came out that the (school resource officers) had a suspect at gunpoint and were taking him into custody," Walek said.

Emergency medical services were requested and Safety Harbor Fire Rescue paramedics arrived shortly after and began treating both victims, he said.

The student in custody has no known relationship to the students who were stabbed, and his motive is unknown at this time, Walek said, adding that the student has no history of disciplinary problems at the school.

"Our first duty is to neutralize the threat and, in this case, that was done quickly," he said. "Fortunately for us, our SROs were nearby and able to intervene."

Walek said the police department has specific protocols it follows in an active assailant type of response, and police immediately took the next step of ensuring there were no other active threats and then began locking down the school, confining the students in their classrooms.

"The big task is clearing the school and trying to reunify students with their parents," Walek said, adding that the school moved the dismissal time from 1:45 p.m. to 1:25 p.m. because parts of the school are crime scenes and need to be preserved for the investigation.

"This can be a challenge when you're dealing with 21 buses and upwards of 1,500 to 1,600 kids," he said. "And it's critically important that we get that right and alleviate those fears and make sure the kids are safe during that process."

Complicating things, he said, is social media, where misinformation may be posted that unnecessarily alarms parents before the police have a chance to issue an accurate news release.

Walek said police will be at the high school for several hours Thursday afternoon, investigating the scene, reviewing the evidence including the knife that's now in police custody and interviewing witnesses. He said police will also investigate how the student was able to bring a knife onto campus.

"I can't get too granular and talk about details of the case and I can't release the names of the victims or the suspect because they are all juveniles," Walek said.

"A key piece to an investigation like this is a unified response, and we had that very quickly in this instance," he said, coordinating Clearwater police, Safety Harbor emergency medical personnel, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and school personnel.

"It's very sad that this occurred, but we're pleased with law enforcement's response," said Hendrick.

"We review our safety plan with law enforcement all the time. Safety of our students are obviously our top priority," he said, adding that, if the response by teachers and staff is any indication, the drills are paying off. "We practice drills for cases like this, and everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do."

He also commended Clearwater police on their response, saying they "acted quickly, appropriately and with great care."

Hendrick said after-school activities and sports have been canceled for Wednesday afternoon but school will be in session on Friday, and he will have mental health support staff on hand for school staff, teachers and students.

Walek added that he will have additional police officers at the school Friday to reassure parents, students and staff of their safety.