PANAMA CITY, FL — A seventh grader was taken into custody on Tuesday, March 24, after allegedly stabbing two other students and a staff member at a Florida middle school, authorities said.
The incident occurred at around 7:17 a.m. local time at Walton Middle School in Defuniak Springs, Florida, during early drop-off, according to theWalton County Sheriff's Office. Defuniak Springs is a small city located in the Florida Panhandle, about 120 miles west of Tallahassee, Florida.
At the time of the attack, Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said the school had not opened for the day, and about 40 students were in the building. Deputies received reports of a stabbing at the school at about 7:22 a.m. and by 7:30 a.m., the suspect, who was identified as a student, was detained a block from the school, according to the sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office added that it already had a school resource deputy at the school, and additional patrol deputies, along with officers from the DeFuniak Springs Police Department, responded to the scene.
Two students were seriously injured and transported to hospitals, according to Adkinson. The staff member, a paraprofessional, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
"Our first priority, along with Walton County School District, was to ensure that students and staff were safe, the situation was brought under control, and accurate information was relayed to parents regarding reunification," Adkinson said ina statement.
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During anews conferenceon March 24, Adkinson said the attack occurred after the suspect – whose name has not been released – was dropped off at the entrance of the school. The student allegedly walked into a bathroom in the hallway and exited less than three minutes later wearing a mask and armed with a "sharp implement," the sheriff said.
He then suddenly attacked a fellow student and stabbed the victim multiple times, Adkinson said. The victim ran away, and the suspect went down the hall and attacked the paraprofessional.
After stabbing the staff member, Adkinson said the suspect allegedly continued running down the hallway and attacked another student. The suspect then fled from the scene and was later taken into custody in "fairly close vicinity," according to the sheriff.
The two students who were seriously injured received "immediate life-saving aid," the sheriff said. The students involved are all seventh graders, ages 12 to 13.
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One victim was life-flighted to a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, and the other was taken to the Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, a level two trauma center. The third, the paraprofessional, did not sustain life-threatening injuries and was also transported to the Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, according to Adkinson.
Adkinson noted that the attack happened "very quickly" and the suspect was detained within about seven minutes. The sheriff added that three stabbings all occurred in less than about 45 seconds.
"At this point, there's no further danger to the public. This individual is in custody," Adkinson said. "He's being interviewed at the Walton County Sheriff's Office. We're going to make decisions on what is the appropriate charge, and that'll ultimately be the decision of the State's Attorney's Office."
The sheriff declined to discuss a possible motive for the attack and did not provide further information on the suspect. The investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
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In astatement on Facebook, the Walton County School District said it was working with the sheriff's office and the DeFuniak Springs Police Department in responding to the incident at the middle school. Classes at the middle school were canceled for the day.
The school district asked parents with students who attended the middle school to keep their children home. Adkinson said many students were still aboard school buses at the time of the attack and were diverted to a reunification site.
Walton County School Superintendent Russell Hughes later released avideo statementaddressing the incident and said the attack occurred on the first day of school after spring break.
"The student greeted his administrators like he does on a daily basis, and came out attacking two students and one adult," the school superintendent said. "We want to first show our heart and concern for those two students that were injured very seriously and the adult that was injured very seriously. How difficult it is to have to report that a student has done something like this to a fellow student and a paraprofessional."
Hughes added that the incident occurred in a total of about three minutes before the suspect fled through a back door at the school. He said most students did not witness the attack and paraprofessionals had "put themselves in harm's way to make sure that students were safe."
The school superintendent said the school will be open on March 25 "to get back to normalcy as quick as possible." Hughes noted that families who choose to keep their students home for the day will receive an excused absence, and additional counselors and mental health support will be available at the school.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News:Florida middle school stabbing leaves 3 injured, including 2 students