High school students stabbed in Utah

By FRANCESCA CIUFFO

A school stabbing occurred at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, injuring five students, who are all expected to survive.

It happened just before 8 a.m. in the boy’s locker room. The five students and the suspected attacker were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Inside the locker room, police say a 16-year-old straight-A student with no record of disciplinary trouble had attacked his classmates with a knife as they changed into their gym clothes.

Students were in shock and fear after the gruesome scene that they just saw. Police reported that the blade used was three inches long.

The 911 recordings were released from the police. One caller told dispatchers: “There’s someone at Mountain View killing people! He’s stabbing people! He’s stabbing people!”

Another woman called about a student in the attendance office with wounds to his neck and that another victim was on his way. She said, “We just need some help.”

The parents of the suspect later posted a letter apologizing for their son’s horrific actions and insuring everyone that the attacks were not racially or ethnically motivated.

“We are at a loss to express how deeply sorry we are for the pain and injury caused,” the letter said.

There were no indications the suspect was having problems or being bullied, so police are still investigating if there were any motivations behind these attacks.

Right after the attack, the school went on lockdown for about an hour until the police were able to decide that the school was safe. School then resumed normally, but some parents took their children out of school that day.

The school plans to investigate if the student’s actions were caused by anything that could have been addressed or stopped beforehand.

The news media addresses topics like this because a school stabbing is something that is not seen everyday, so when it happens people want to hear about it so that they can make sure that their loved ones that are in that area are safe and pray for anyone that was injured in the process. Anything that has to do with younger children is usually newsworthy because it appeals to the emotional side of audiences.