AKRON, Ohio — A 16-year-old student was stabbed during an altercation in the boys' bathroom at Firestone CLC in Akron on Friday afternoon.
According to Akron Police, multiple officers responded to Firestone CLC at 1:12 p.m. to assist the School Resource Officer after receiving reports that a student was stabbed. Preliminary information indicates that an altercation occurred inside one of the boys' bathrooms and that a 15-year-old male student was stabbed during the incident.
The student who was stabbed was transported to Akron Children’s Hospital by EMS and is being treated for what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
A 14-year-old male student was detained inside the school by the School Resource Officer immediately following the incident and was later transported to the police station for questioning.
Potential charges, including Felonious Assault, are pending the outcome of the investigation.
In a statement released on Friday, Akron Public Schools Superintendent Christine Fowler-Mack said:
"Two male, freshman students fought in a first-floor bathroom at Firestone CLC shortly after 1 pm today. One student was stabbed, is in the hospital, and appears to have non-life-threatening wounds; the other student has been taken into police custody.
"We are grateful for the quick actions of our student resource officer at the school who responded instantly, went into the bathroom, and apprehended the suspect while summoning aid for the victim.
"Akron police are working with our security teams to assess what led to this senseless act of violence and how a weapon ended up in a student's hands while in school.
"Our school administrators at Firestone have been in communication with Firestone families conveying everything we know about what happened today.
"We pray for the student who was attacked and will be reassessing security procedures as we prepare for class next week."
Students at Firestone CLC also reacted to the stabbing.
"I just wish that school altogether could be more safe for students to attend without them being scared at all," sophomore El'Dria Thrasher-Johnson said.
El'Dria added that she's nervous to go back to school on Monday.
"I heard a police officer yelling at a student to get down on the ground, and what I saw, I believe this kid had like blood on his shirt," El'Dria said. "It shouldn't be dangerous, but it is. Especially in this day and age, school is very dangerous."
She got to school late on Friday right as the incident happened and the school went on lockdown.
El'Dria's mother Shundria Thrasher-Johnson was still in the parking lot after dropping her off, waiting to hear what happened.
"I was there for three hours, I sat there waiting because I didn't know what was the outcome, when you see five or six cops pull up and the ambulance, they had blocked me in the fire truck, I'm concerned," Shundria said.
Shundria told 3News she was one of many parents left in the dark, unable to contact their kids because of the lack of service inside the school, worrying that the worst had happened.
"I saw a lot of parents standing outside like why can't I get my child out of school? Why aren't they going to let us in? Trying to talk to their children through the window," Shundria said.
She added that safety has been a constant concern and they are considering alternative options, like homeschooling or hybrid.
"I kind of expected something like this to happen at this point because of the things that have gone on at school, and that's kind of sad, that it should be something that I'm expecting," El'Dria said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story stated that the victim was 15 years old, based on information given to 3News by Akron police. The department has since corrected his age and the story has been updated.
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