Students at Goodrich Academy in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, are returning to school Thursday after a troubling incident less than 24 hours ago. A 15-year-old student allegedly stabbed a classmate, a situation that has parents and students alike on edge.
School officials and police say this was a targeted attack, and therefore there is no threat to the rest of the school community. It did, however, prompt a lockdown lasting nearly an hour as authorities determined the type of threat they were dealing with.
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Police said the stabbing happened minutes before 2 p.m. on Wednesday as students were preparing to go to afternoon classes.
The 15-year-old student was detained by police and is being charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
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School was dismissed early after the lockdown was lifted.
Brianna Thibodeau was home across the street when she learned about what happened. She immediately worried about her younger sister, who attends the public school.
"I run downstairs and I'm like, 'You can't go to school,' and I look out the window and there's like five cop cars already and ambulances," Thibodeau said. "If a child has a problem with another child, it should be left outside of school if anything, because in school kids are supposed to be safe and learn."
School officials say they are making counselors available on Thursday for those who need them.
The teenage student who was stabbed suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.
