1 Dead, 2 Injured After Stabbing At NC High School; Student Arrested, Police Say

JACKSONVILLE, NC — One person is dead and two others are injured after a stabbing Thursday morning at Northside High School in Jacksonville, according to police. A student was in custody Thursday in connection with the attack, police said.

The incident occurred about 7 a.m. and involved a physical altercation between students in a common area inside the school, authorities said at a press conference streamed on Facebook by Jacksonville Public Safety. Many students witnessed the attack and were being interviewed by authorities, according to police.

Two minors were stabbed and taken to Naval Medical Center, where one of the victims succumbed to their injuries, police said, noting neither victim’s name will be released because they are juveniles. A teacher suffered minor injuries but was not stabbed, police said.

Staff at Northside provided medical care until EMS arrived, according to police, and school resource officers were on the scene within seconds. The school went into lockdown for over an hour before releasing students to parents, Superintendent Barry Collins said.

Police are looking into whether the incident was gang-related or involved students from another area high school, according to Chief Mike Yaniero.

“Any time we have an investigation like this there is a possibility that it was gang-related,” Yaniero said, adding the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force is working with his department.

District Attorney Ernie Lee said his office is working with the juvenile justice system to bring the appropriate charges against the student who was arrested, and that the case may be transferred to superior court if the assailant is charged as an adult. The attacker’s name has not been released.

Onslow County Schools, the district that includes Northside, has added school resource officers, swipe-in door locks, cameras and a ring-in system in the past year, according to Collins.

“There probably are some other things that we’re going to have to look at,” he said, adding security changes will be evaluated in the coming days and weeks.

Northside students will have a virtual school day Friday and return Tuesday in person, according to Collins, who said the school’s athletic events have been canceled for Thursday and Friday. Counselors were at the school just 30 minutes after the attack and will be present Tuesday as well, authorities said.