Police are investigating an assault that took place outside an Edmonton high school on Friday.
A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services confirmed a teenage boy was taken to hospital from McNally High School “in critical, life-threatening condition.”
In a news release issued Friday night, the Edmonton Police Service said it had “received reports of an assault that had occurred outside of McNally High School” at 2:45 p.m.
“A nearby Edmonton Fire Rescue Services unit attended the scene and treated the victim… until EMS arrived to transport him to hospital,” the EPS said.
Police added that as of Friday night, the victim was in stable but critical condition. They did not say if any arrests had been made or if they have any suspect(s).
A spokesperson for the Edmonton Public School Board confirmed to Global News that the victim is a student.
“School staff continue to work with the Edmonton Police Service as they investigate,” the EPSB said in an email. “The school will provide supports to students when they return to school on Monday.”
The school is located in the Forest Heights community.
Jaydaan Bayne is a former student at the school who lives within view of it. He said he had not heard or seen anything unusual until he looked out his wIndow as “two police cars come flying up onto the grass.”
“(The crowd near a bus stop split off) into a million different directions,” he told Global News.
He said numerous emergency responders arrived soon after.
“They brought out a stretcher and picked the kid up,” Bayne recalled. “They gave him chest compressions straight onto the ambulance.”
He said the ambulance received a police escort as it left the scene.