Breaking News: Student Stabbed At Mount Vernon High School
Parents, staff and members of the community tell BW they were not informed of decision to cease use of metal detectors.
Mount Vernon – While details are still sketchy, BW has confirmed that one student was stabbed in the back, Wednesday at Mount Vernon High School. Officials tell us the injury is not life threatening and the student was taken to Jacobi Medical Center with stab wounds to the back. Police say a student is under arrest in connection with the stabbing of another student.
Local officials say the victim is a student who is at an alternative high school, and was at Mount Vernon High School to meet with a counselor. As the victim was leaving, he was stabbed in front of the school. The suspect was also stabbed and is at New Rochelle Hospital.
As a safety precaution, the school was placed on lockdown. A security officer will be on each school bus, as is standard procedure, and a strong police presence was on the high school campus for dismissal.
The Mount Vernon City School District is fully cooperating with the investigation, which is ongoing, officials tell Black Westchester Magazine.
The MVCSD released the following statement at 3:32 PM, Wednesday:
An altercation occurred that concluded in a stab wound at 12:10 p.m. today outside an entrance at Mount Vernon High School. The victim, a former student, was stabbed in the back and his injuries have been confirmed as not life threatening. He received immediate attention from school staff followed by first responders and transported to Jacobi Medical Center.
In September 2016, MVHS had ceased to require students to go through metal detectors upon entering the school. At the Tuesday, September 20th School Board Meeting, parents asked ‘why they weren’t told about the decision to cease to use the metal detectors in the climate we live in today?’
MVCSD Superintendent Kenneth Hamilton responded,
“The metal detectors were not removed altogether and I know that has been one of the first miscommunications. The plan was to gradually phase the metal detectors out, the building principles and director of security had the discression to develop a schedule for that building…” (see video of entire Sept 20th School Board Meeting below).
Stay tuned to BW for more on this developing story!
In unrelated MVHS News, there will be a parent workshop at Mount Vernon High School to give parents information on paying for college and job training, Wednesday night at 6-8:00 PM.
