A 14-year-old boy was stabbed multiple times during a fight at a Buffalo high school on Wednesday – and a security guard was shot while trying to help, officials say.
Police initially believed the boy was also shot following a large fight near a parking lot just after classes at McKinley High School ended, only realizing he had been stabbed after undergoing surgery.
The guard suffered a non-life-threatening leg injury, Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said.
At least 100 after-school students were locked in the building for hours as police from multiple agencies swarmed the area, with a helicopter hovering overhead for at least an hour, the Buffalo News noted.
Concerned parents stood outside as at least two armored SWAT vehicles pulled up and heavily armed officers searched the building to ensure there was no active shooter threat, according to the newspaper.
Thursday morning, the police had announced no arrests. Gramaglia would not say if the suspect was considered a student.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown confirmed the injured boy – who has not been identified – was stabbed “multiple times”.
He was in “stable condition and is being watched closely,” Brown tweeted.
“The security guard who was shot protecting the children has been treated and released and is expected to make a full recovery,” he said of the guard, who also had not been identified.
The mayor called it “a very dark day in our town”.
“As of last night, eight school shootings took place across the United States in 2022. Now the city of Buffalo has the horrible distinction of becoming the ninth,” he tweeted Wednesday night.
The school will go to remote classes for at least the next few days, officials said who warned it could last even longer.
“The the impact of what happened at McKinley High School in the late afternoon is still untold,” the mayor tweeted.
“Families are shaken, educators and students are upset and many of our children are scared.”
Governor Kathy Hochul also said her “the heart is with my hometown of Buffalo.
“I pray for the victims and their families, members of the McKinley High School community and our brave first responders who responded to this horrific event,” she tweeted.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis. No child should be afraid to go to school. No parent should have to worry if their child is going to come home. Victims of gun violence deserve action, and they will get it,” she promised.
With post wires
