Update
A student was struck with a 2-inch pocket knife by another student today in the courtyard at Pershing Middle School.
Two 15-year-old males got into a short fight about 30 minutes before school and one student ended up getting cut above the waist, HISD Media Relations Manager Norm Uhl said.
The cut was minor and the student didn’t even notice he was bleeding until another student pointed it out to him, Uhl said.
The two students had been having a dispute going on between them for about two weeks and it hadn’t been reported, Uhl said. If it had been reported the two males would have seen the counselor about conflict resolution.
HISD is unable to disclose what kind of punishment will happen to the students, but what typically happens is if a student hurts another student they will get charged with aggravated assault and will have an automatic referral to an alternative school, Uhl said.
If students get into a fight and no one is injured they typically have a suspension of three days, he said.
Pershing Middle School has police on campus, but students are not searched or go through a metal detector. Police have a wand that they can use on students.
“[We] don’t want to get to a point where we have to use metal detectors,” Uhl said.
Principal Robin Lowe sent a letter to parents encouraging them to talk with their children about what is appropriate to bring to school and to talk about today’s incident.
“If you’re having problems with another student, report it,” Uhl said. “If they don’t tell someone it will fester, escalate.”
April 14th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Would love to know what the definition of small pocketknife is and how long the “ongoing dispute has be going on.
April 15th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Pershing Students is correct; My child witnessed within a few feet when it happened and said it was a non-issue. The stabbing was more like a paper cut. There was mayhem, no blood or gore (like portrayed by other media outlets). It was wrong that a knife was on campus and it was wrong to settle differences in that manner – but it is a joke to call it a stabbing.
May 1st, 2010 at 11:23 am
If my child had done this, they would have been grounded seriously, they are now adults, one of them a police officer.
As an educator, this is an issue. Would you like to call it a “poking” with a knife?
The reason I hate the media on issues like this, is because then everyone bands up on the side of the student who chose to do a very inappropiate act. And the student does not get the message.
Get mad at the media. But do not dismiss the action and call it a non-issue. You are sending the wrong message to this generation. Tell the students this is wrong. period. Then we will have a better society.
April 15th, 2010 at 6:57 am
i have been looking at other news stories and so far this is the most accurate. it really annoys me how they over exaggerate because i wouldn’t classify it as a stabbing.
April 20th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
The question – why a knife was in school?
Where do these kids live? Are they not neighborhood kids?
What was the dispute? Anger management issues?
Do the kids have previous records of bad behavior?