Two students arrested after frenzied school stabbing

Two youths have been arrested after a knife fight at St. Joseph’s Secondary School sent four students to hospital along with a teacher who intervened.

Peel Regional Police said Wednesday afternoon that the youths, aged 16 and 17, face one count of attempted murder and several other weapons-related charges. They cannot be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Both are scheduled to appear Thursday in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton.

Police arrived at the school shortly before 8:30 a.m. to find the victims suffering from various injuries, said Sgt. Zahira Shah.

One of the stabbing victims, a Grade 12 student, told the National Post he saw two groups of teenagers facing off in a hallway, and one student pulled what looked like a large knife.

"He started to go crazy and stab everyone," the student said.

The Grade 12 student said he jumped into the fracas, and was slashed in the back; he showed a Post reporter the blood on his shirt.

The teacher tried to intervene, and was stabbed in the hand, but the injury appeared minor, said the student, who returned to school after a brief hospital visit.

Bruce Campbell, a spokesman for the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board, said the parents of all students involved in the incident were notified and a lockdown imposed after the incident was later lifted.

"All of the individuals involved were members of the school community," he said.

One of the victims was taken to a trauma centre and three others were transported to hospital. He did not know extent of the injuries.

Campbell said usually there are about 1,800 students at St. Joseph’s, but because it was an exam day there were only about 1,000 students in the school at the time. Exams have been rescheduled for Monday, he added.

"It’s an extremely safe school. This is an unusual incident, to be sure," said Campbell.