Child dies after being found stabbed in bathroom in Kansas City middle school
‘I know they have metal detectors but you can’t keep them safe from everything,’ parent says
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
A child died in hospital after he was found stabbed in a bathroom in the middle of class in a Kansas City middle school.
Police said the student was found stabbed at Northeast Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday morning, according to the Kansas City Star.
Law enforcement was alerted of the reported stabbing after 9am and responded to the school in the South Indian Mound area of the city.
Officers found the male student with stab wounds in the bathroom and started providing first aid alongside school security personnel.
Emergency medical workers then transported the student to hospital.
Police announced late on Tuesday night that the student had died of his injuries. Police department spokesperson Officer Donna Drake said another male student had been taken into custody and is a subject of interest. She said law enforcement officials were still working on the case late on Tuesday night.
Ms Drake added that the investigation findings would be put to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office for them to consider any criminal charges.
The school was put on lockdown and police closed down the streets in the surrounding area. Students left school early to meet their families.
Parents told the Kansas City Star that they got calls from their children as they were locked down in classrooms. Carl Moore’s seventh-grade child called him during science class.
“I was very concerned. I know they have metal detectors but you can’t keep them safe from everything,” he told the paper. “It’s for the individual to deescalate the situation.”
The stabbing took place in the morning after class began at 8.20am. The school day goes until 3.20pm. According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the school has around 675 students across seventh and eighth grades.
In a letter to families, school officials said on Tuesday that classes were expected to start back up on Wednesday and that resources, such as mental health counselling and additional security, would be put in place.
Kansas City Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell said in a letter that “safety above all else will always be a focus of our administrative team, our Board of Directors and our entire staff”.
“We will continue to lead with a high degree of transparency as we strive to maintain safe learning environments for all of our students,” he added.
Mayor Quinton Lucas said he was “very saddened to hear that the middle schooler stabbed today at school has died”.
“Too many children are struggling and we all have to do more to get them the help they need,” he added.