Police have arrested a 15-year-old boy in a Wednesday morning stabbing at West Potomac High School in Fairfax County.
The victim, a 16-year-old boy, suffered life threatening injuries in the assault, but his condition was upgraded to stable at an area hospital Wednesday afternoon, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference.
Police said two students got into a fight at the school at 6500 Quander Road in Belle Haven about 9:40 a.m. and the victim was stabbed.
“The school resource officer was with the victim within seconds and additional officers were on scene within minutes,” Fairfax County police Maj. Elizabeth Melendez said at the news conference.
She said the suspect, a 15-year-old boy, will be charged with malicious wounding. Both are students at the school.
Davis said the knife has been recovered. The suspect and victim know each other, but “we’re working out the circumstances of that relationship,” he said. He said both students are Hispanic.
The chief praised Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid, “her staff, faculty, coaches, everyone who acted with a sense of relentless urgency to protect our students.”
Reid said West Potomac was placed on lockdown during the incident, but the school day then continued with students going through a modified lunch schedule. She said counseling teams have been brought in and students are being “supervised more closely.”
She thanked school staff and police for their quick response.
“While there is a sense of shock obviously that this would happen at one of our high schools, they responded admirably and quickly and may have saved a life today,” she said.
The school of nearly 2,400 students does not have a dedicated weapons detection system, according to the Fairfax County Public Schools website, though one is being tested at county high schools through a pilot program.
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