FAUQUIER COUNTY, Va. – A high school in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Fairfax County is on increased security after a student was stabbed in the hallway during a fight Wednesday morning.
Parents on Wednesday expressed their anger and frustration around communication from the school – and that they were not able to pick their children up from the school.
The backstory:
A 16-year-old student was stabbed at West Potomac High School on Wednesday morning.
Police say that a fight between students around 9:40a.m. on Wednesday left one suffering serious injuries. According to officials, the student has been transported to a nearby hospital for injuries that are now considered stable.
The male suspect, a 15-year-old, is in custody. He is being charged with malicious wounding. Officials say the suspect and victim are known to each other.
Video from the incident appears to show three kids were involved in a fight. The third student was not hurt and is not expected to be charged in connection with this incident.
Another video shows a young man on the ground in the hallway of the school surrounded by a pool of blood.
Parents received communication from the school first at 10:15 a.m. – that’s when some parents started showing up to the school to get their kids, but were told that the could not.
Updates from the school followed roughly every half hour after that saying the threat was contained but the school remained in a “Stay Put, Stay Tuned” posture, which usually means parents can pick kids up, but they could not.
What they’re saying:
Parents say they received a notice 45 minutes after the stabbing incident at the school.
They say that the alert was a *Stay Put, Stay Tuned” alert and that under Fairfax County Public Schools policy, it is supposed to allow parents to pick up their children as long as they present identification. But the school did not allow parents to pick up their children.
Parent Bill Beil tells FOX 5 DC he was “denied access.”
“Everything is unsatisfactory, from the alert that goes out to parents that’s stay put, stay tuned. Under that alert with appropriate ID we can check out our children. This is a lockdown. Under a lockdown you can’t get access and the answers Dr. Reid gave were appalling,” said Beil.
Beil confronted the Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent and the county’s police chief at a news conference.
The school district says parents were initially denied access due to the ongoing police and school investigation. FOX 5 DC has reached out repeatedly to Fairfax County Public Schools, asking about the policy and protocol and what went wrong. We have not heard back.
What’s next:
West Potomac High School Principal Jessica Statz sent a letter home to families that said an “additional layer of safety” would be in place Thursday, including a weapons detection system that FCPS is piloting.
The school is also providing a “crisis team of psychologists and social workers” to provide support to students.
The Source: This story includes information from Fairfax County police, Fairfax Count Public Schools, parents from West Potomac High School and previous FOX 5 DC reporting.
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