Montreal police are investigating after a teacher was stabbed Thursday morning at John F. Kennedy High School on Villeray Street in the Saint-Michel district.
Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said it happened inside the school at around 10:10 a.m. when an altercation between a student and a teacher escalated.
“The student stabbed the teacher at least once to the upper body,” Brabant said, adding the injuries were superficial.
The teacher, a 40-year-old man, was taken to hospital for treatment.
“We don’t fear for his life,” Brabant said.
While police originally described the injuries as superficial, the school board later said the teacher had undergone surgery.
The school was on lockdown as officers searched the grounds for the student allegedly involved in the altercation.
Brabant said a 16-year-old was arrested not far from the school a short time later. He remains in police custody for questioning.
The teacher was also expected to meet with investigators later Thursday.
Meanwhile, numerous worried parents gathered outside the school. They were allowed to take their kids home in the afternoon.
Lisa Fiengo has two daughters at the school. She rushed over as soon as she heard something was going on.
“It’s very scary,” she said, adding there was sense of disbelief to what took place.
“It’s something that you see in the news but it’s not something that actually happens to you.”
English Montreal School Board spokesperson Mike Cohen said that a trauma team is being made available to help students and staff process the morning’s events.
Cohen said the incident was completely unexpected.
The stabbing victim — an art teacher — is very well-liked, he said.
Grade 11 student, Giuliano Bizaikiao, can attest to that.
“He’s been my music teacher since I was really young,” he said. “He’s an extremely down to earth, really cool teacher… one of my favorite teachers.”
“He’s really nice, so to see him get attacked like this, it hurt a bit.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was shocked by the news coming out of his riding of Papineau.
“My thoughts are with the John F. Kennedy High School community and, In particular the teacher who was stabbed this morning,” he wrote on Twitter. ” I’m wishing him a full and fast recovery, and I’d like to thank the authorities who responded so quickly.”
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante echoed those sentiments.
“My thoughts go out to the victim, his loved ones, the students and staff of the St-Michel school,” she wrote in French on Twitter.
Plante added work continues through collaborative efforts with police and community and institutional organizations, to ensure safe living environments.
“We are making sure the SPVM has all the necessary resources to intervene,” she wrote.
Plante also said community groups play an essential role in the field and they are also being supported as the focus shifts to prevention.
Quebec Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge also reacted on Twitter to what he described as an “odious act,” and said the government was offering its full support to the school and the school board.
— With files from Global News’ Olivia O’Malley and The Canadian Press