A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Wednesday morning after being stabbed during a fight at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County, Virginia. A 15-year-old suspect, also a student, has been arrested and charged with malicious wounding, police said.

The Context

Fairfax County officials chose not to immediately release students following the stabbing, citing concerns that emotional students might escalate tensions if allowed to leave campus.

“These are unilaterally tough decisions. There are a lot of emotions swirling, not only outside but inside the school as well,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a news conference following the event, according to the Fairfax Daily Voice. “The last thing we want as responsible adults is to release emotional groups of students where something retaliatory in nature happens down the street.”

Newsweek reached out to the Fairfax County Police for additional comment.

Instead, a “Stay Put, Stay Tuned” protocol was implemented.

What To Know

The stabbing happened at around 9:30 a.m. at the school, which is located in the county’s Alexandria area. Officers arrived within minutes, and the injured student was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. His condition was later upgraded to stable.

Davis said a third student was involved in the fight but was not criminally charged.

The stabbing occurred inside a hallway at the school, where videos and images later circulated on social media showing the altercation and its aftermath. Police said the knife used in the stabbing was recovered, The Washington Post reported. The nature of the students’ relationship is unknown at this time.

Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid said the school staff responded with urgency. Officials said the incident was isolated and there’s no current threat to the school.

What People Are Saying

Joanne Boice told NBC Washington that her son witnessed the stabbing: “He just said he was walking down the hall, a kid got stabbed by two boys. He was really shaken up, and he’s like, ‘Please come and get me.’ He’s not one to get spooked easily, so to hear, you know, ‘Mom, please come get me. I’m a mess.’…I work in Maryland, 45 minutes away. I jumped in the car, and I got here in about 30 minutes.”

Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, at a news conference: “While there’s a sense, obviously a shock, that this would happen … I’m very proud of the response of our staff to this incident. They responded quickly and admirably and may have saved a life today.”

What Happens Next

Counselors and additional resources were brought into West Potomac High School following the incident, which remains under investigation.

West Potomac High, which has an enrollment of nearly 2,400 students, does not have a permanent weapons detection system, though one is being tested elsewhere in the district, InsideNoVa reported.

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