A Trickum Middle School eighth grader told a teacher he had a “surprise” for her before he stabbed her in the chest, the teacher’s father told Channel 2 Action News.
The 13-year-old boy was detained after stabbing the female language arts teacher with an eight-inch “butcher knife” after fourth period Monday, according to the school district. The woman is recovering from injuries that are not life-threatening at Gwinnett Medical Center, and she’s already looking forward to her return to the classroom, her father told Channel 2.
PREVIOUSLY | Student stabs teacher at Gwinnett middle school, district says
“She’s anxious to get back and see her kids again,” he said.
He is monitoring his daughter’s recovery in the hospital. The teacher had no indication that the student wanted to hurt her until the Monday attack, her father said. The boy was a student of hers and never had any disciplinary issues in the class, he added.
But when class let out Monday, the student called the teacher over, according to the district.
“He said he had something to give her, but it was too big to bring up,” said the teacher’s father. “It was a surprise.”
After stabbing the teacher, the boy grabbed a fellow student, but a school resource officer intervened and nobody else was hurt. The stabbing caused a brief lockdown, during which the student and the teacher were removed from the school. The teacher, who was alert and talking to paramedics, was taken to Gwinnett Medical Center. The student was taken to the Youth Detention Center.
Additional police officers and counselors were at the school Tuesday morning, prepared to assuage anxieties and help kids process their feelings, according to a letter Principal Ryan Queen sent to parents. School administrators personally called the families of students who witnessed the Monday incident, Queen said.
“We have never had a situation like this at our school and I know we are all concerned about this,” Queen said in a letter to parents. “The fact that one of our Trickum Middle family was hurt at the hands of a student is very upsetting.”
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