Fairfax County police said a teenage boy was sent to the hospital Wednesday after a 15-year-old student stabbed him during a fight at West Potomac High School.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said the 16-year-old victim was in stable condition by midday Wednesday, which he called a “sigh of relief” after the boy’s injuries were originally reported as life-threatening.
Authorities said the suspect, who wasn’t identified, is in custody on malicious wounding charges. The knife that the boy brought to school has been confiscated as well, police said.
Police said the stabbing was preceded by a fight involving the victim, the suspect and another 15-year-old boy around 9:40 a.m. inside the school.
“The assailant and the victim are known to each other,” Chief Davis said. “We’re working out the circumstances of that relationship.”
A school-based police officer rushed to the scene of the fight, and saw the 16-year-old boy had been stabbed. Additional officers arrived at the school and arrested the suspect on campus.
Chief Davis said the third boy was being questioned by police, but did not expect him to face any charges.
A video of the fight between the three teens has been going around social media.
It shows a boy wearing a red T-shirt fighting with two other boys in an open area of the school.
At the end of the 30-second video, the boy in the red T-shirt is seen lying on the ground with a pool of blood next to him.
A teacher standing near the boy can be heard ordering someone to call for an ambulance.
Chief Davis said the video “doesn’t tell the full story.”
The school was placed on a brief lockdown following the stabbing, and classes resumed shortly afterward.
