An 11th-grade student was stabbed in the arm on November 8 during Panther Hour, a small break from classes every morning in which students can get extra help or get some lunch, at Annapolis High School in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.
As a result of the stabbing, Principal Sue Chittim said in a letter to parents that Panther Hour had been canceled until further notice and would be replaced with a normal third-hour class and lunch shifts for students, The Capital Gazette reported.
Five students, all of them minors, were arrested and charged as juveniles in connection with the stabbing. The most severe citation, police said, involved first-degree assault and possession of a weapon with intent to injure. The 17-year-old victim and three other students were also charged with lesser offenses, according to Anne Arundel County police spokesman Marc Limansky.
“Please reiterate to your child the need to help our school remain a place that is focused on instruction and where issues that begin outside the building are left there,” Ms Chittim was quoted as saying.
Precious Lives project and the dangers of carrying a knife
The Birmingham Mail reports from the UK that one police department, having noticed an uptick in the number of juveniles carrying weapons this year, is bringing a program called “Precious Lives” to the schools in one community.
“We acknowledge that knives are the weapon of choice, but we are working really hard with retailers, schools, and partners to remove knives from the streets of the West Midlands,” the superintendent of police was quoted as saying.
“Precious Lives … is a hard-hitting presentation on the dangers of carrying a knife, and ensuring those who do carry a knife are robustly dealt with through the criminal justice system. If you carry a knife, there’s a real danger that you will be caught and arrested and a real danger that it can be taken off you and used against you.”