Three people stabbed at high school in the Halifax area, student in custody

By Michael Tutton and Michael MacDonald in Halifax

A student was arrested after three people were stabbed Monday morning at a high school in the Halifax area, police say.

The three injured people were taken to hospital for treatment, but the extent of their injuries remains unclear.

Police said they responded to a weapons complaint at around 9:20 a.m., and a suspect was taken into custody about 10 minutes later at Charles P. Allen High School in the suburb of Bedford.

Raghad Ghazal, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student, said she was outside when she spotted “a guy with a knife running away and then a security guard chasing after him with a broom.”

That’s when the police showed up, she said as she waited outside the school for a bus.

“He was just chasing after him and then there were five police cars that came and they were surrounding him,” she said. “I was kind of shocked. It shouldn’t happen, but thankfully it’s the first time it’s happened in a long time.”

As she spoke, police blocked areas where they were looking for evidence, as school buses lined up to take students home.

Jonathan Teal, 15, said news of the stabbing was upsetting for many students.

“A lot of people were really nervous and scared about it,” the Grade 10 student said as he waited for a bus. “I just sat in my classroom and texted my family and let them know I was OK …. I’m all right (now). I’m outside. Everything is taken care of. The guy is gone and it’s fine now.”

Hala Almashharawi, 15, was in a classroom when the stabbing was reported.

“It came as a shock to me,” she said. “I didn’t think something like this would happen in our school. It was kind of crazy to think about it.”

Halifax Regional Police initially reported that four people had been stabbed, but they issued a statement lowering the number to three. They also confirmed that the suspect is a student at the school.

The school was locked down and then closed for the remainder of the day. Police later completed a search of the school and worked with school staff to release students from the property on Innovation Drive. About 1,700 students in grades 10 to 12 attend the school.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2023.