Nineteen students and one staff member were injured following a mass stabbing early Wednesday morning at Franklin Regional High School in Pennsylvania.
Two victims are in critical condition, but all are expected to survive, Pennsylvania Public Safety Communications spokesman Dan Stevens said.
Emergency responders gather in the parking lot of the high school on the campus of the Franklin Regional School District where several people were stabbed at Franklin Regional High School on Wednesday, April 9, 2014, in Murrysville, Pa., near Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Murrysville police Chief Thomas Seefeld said a 16-year-old male "was flashing two knives around" before he was eventually subdued by a school police officer and assistant principal.
#BREAKING: PHOTO Suspect in Franklin Regional High School stabbings moved from police station. https://t.co/JZT7kYYb1t pic.twitter.com/iIIcTTTNE1
— KDKA (@CBSPittsburgh) April 9, 2014
Police have not named the suspect, but squad cars were seen in the afternoon surrounding his home.
The suspect suffered injuries to his hand and was transported to an unspecified location for treatment, Seefeld said.
Witnesses told KDKA that student Nate Scimio suffered an arm injury after he bypassed the knife-wielding suspect to pull the fire alarm and alert other students of danger.
“The fire alarm being pulled probably assisted with the evacuation of the school and that was a good thing that that was done,” Seefeld said.
Scimio took a selfie at the hospital which was widely circulated on social media.
One student is also being credited for possibly saving a peer by applying pressure to a stab wound until first responders arrived on the scene.
Astha Kadidahl, a senior at the school, spoke to reporters.
"I was terrified when I found out," she said. "I almost cried, but I held (the tears) back."
Multiple students were initially airlifted to the hospital with severe injuries.
Governor Tom Corbett issued a statement, saying he was "shocked and saddened upon learning of the events that occurred this morning."
"As a parent and grandparent, I can think of nothing more distressing than senseless violence against children," he said. "My heart and prayers go out to all the victims and their families.”
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Here's how the event unfolded live:
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