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Utah High School Stabbing: 16-Year-Old ‘Straight-A Student’ Viciously Stabs Five Classmates, Self In Locker Room [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 17:05 PST, Nov 15, 2016

What should have been a typical day at a Utah high school ended in a violent stabbing attack on Tuesday morning. The almost unheard of violence rocked Mountain View High school in the small central Utah city of Orem just before 8:00 a.m. on November 15. The unprovoked attack was carried out by an as-yet unidentified 16-year-old sophomore and took place just before first-period gym class in the boys’ locker room. In all, the attacker stabbed five of his male classmates as they changed their clothes for class, before turning the knife on himself.

According to Orem police, who were able to respond to the Utah high school stabbing almost immediately. This is because there was a school resource officer at the high school at the time that the incident took place. Reportedly, he was on site readying himself to teach a law enforcement course at the high school.

As Herald Extra reports, eyewitness reports of the Utah high school stabbing indicate that several school employees (teachers and/or staff) were able to subdue the attacker after he began his stabbing spree, which resulted in five students being stabbed, suffering injuries of various degrees. The attacker at the Utah high school was still armed with a three-inch knife when he was cornered and detained by the staff members. The actions of those heroic employees, who risked grave personal injury, likely prevented the Utah high school stabbing from claiming more victims, according to Orem Police Chief Gary Giles.

“Staff had boxed the suspect into a bathroom area of the locker room. The suspect still had a knife at that point, so staff members did place themselves in harm’s way to keep him from going after other students.”

After stabbing five of his classmates, seemingly without cause, let alone justification, the 16-year-old alleged attacker turned his knife on himself, reportedly stabbing himself in the throat.

The local police department quickly got a handle on the harrowing situation, taking the assailant into custody and getting both him and his victims immediate medical care at local hospitals. Of the five high school stabbing victims, all were male, and all had reportedly been stabbed at least once in the attack. The stab wounds suffered were all to the neck and/or abdominal area, and the immediate conditions of the victims and Utah high school stabbing suspect ranged from critical to fair.

As New York Daily News reports, following the Utah high school stabbing, Mountain View High School was put on immediate lockdown while law enforcement ensured that the stabbing spree was over and that there were no other suspects involved. Most students were initially unaware of what had happened in the boys’ locker room, but some had witnessed the stabbing victims fleeing the scene of the attack covered in blood, and news quickly spread.

While the nearly unprecedented Utah high school stabbing played out, terrified students called 911 to report the violence, according to KSL News. Transcripts of some of those terrified 911 calls have been made public.

“There’s someone at Mountain View High School killing people. He’s stabbing people.”

Mountain View employees also called 911 as victims of the stabbing sought help from teachers and staff members. One receptionist, seemingly desperate to remain calm, explained to a disbelieving dispatcher that she had had students come into the office reporting that they had been stabbed on campus.

“We just need some help.”

The school quickly contacted the parents of its students, and when the lockdown was lifted, parents had the option of taking their students home or leaving them at the Utah high school for the remainder of the day’s classes, which did go on following the stabbing. It has been reported that the majority of parents opted to take their children home early.

As far as a motive for the attack, law enforcement still appears to be at a loss. Victims and witnesses of the Utah high school stabbing have been interviewed by investigators. The alleged attacker, who was taken into custody at the Slate Canyon Detention Center following the stabbing, has also been questioned by law enforcement, but no motive has been made public. According to police, they don’t know why the 16-year-old student violently stabbed his classmates. They do, however, appear to know what didn’t provoke the stabbing.

“We believe this had nothing to do with race, religion or ethnicity. The suspect had not been bullied by any of the victims, this was not retaliatory.”

The stabbing suspect has been described as a caucasian, straight-A sophomore student with no disciplinary record. According to reports, he was a new transfer to Mountain View High School in Utah; prior to attending the school, he had been home-schooled.

While the neither the stabbing suspect nor his victims have been publicly identified (due to their ages), the parents of the accused attacker did release a statement in the aftermath of the shockingly violent attack.

“We express our deepest condolences to the five boys who were harmed at Mountain View High School this morning and to their families. None of the victims had done anything to hurt him. This was in no way racially or ethnically motivated. We are at a loss to express how deeply sorry we are for the pain and injury caused. Our thoughts and prayers will be with the boys and their families.”

The Orem Police Department shared the parents’ handwritten note on Twitter.

The senseless stabbing has shaken the normally quiet and peaceful high school and local community to its core. Alpine School District made crisis counselors available to those in need, and neighboring Provo School District did the same.

At this time, it is unknown what charges the alleged perpetrator of the Utah high school stabbing might face, and classes are expected to go on as scheduled at Mountain View High School in the morning.

[Featured Image by Inked Pixels/Shutterstock]

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