Twenty stabbed at Franklin Regional High School
Twenty people were stabbed Wednesday morning at Franklin Regional High School. Nineteen students and one adult were injured. A 16-year-old was taken into police custody as a possible suspect for the stabbing. At press time Wednesday afternoon, the motive for the attack was unknown.
Eight victims were taken to Forbes Regional Medical Center and 12 victims were sent to four UPMC’s system of hospitals.
According to a press conference with doctors from FRMC, three out of the eight victims are in critical condition with severe stab wounds to the back and stomach. The ages of the victims in critical condition are 15, 16 and 16. Their names have yet to be released.
Although doctors could not guarantee the future state of the victims at the time, it is speculated they will all survive and recover.
Dr. Chris Kaufman, the trauma director at FRMC, said that the weather and time of the occurrence saved the lives of the three victims in critical condition. He believes that it was down to the minute, saying that if the victims had arrived even 30 minutes later, he would not have three surviving stab wound patients.
According to Kaufman, the victims all exhibit large holes where the weapon penetrated them. Multiple vital organs were injured in the three victims.
Due to the more than one-inch wounds, he believes that the weapon must have been a blade more than one-inch wide.
The three critical victims are now in the intensive care unit under sedation until their vital signs are normal.
FRMC reported that multiple students are waiting with family members at the learning center, making posters and get-well signs for the victims.
The hospital is offering counseling and psychological support to any student they come in contact with. Kaufman said he believes it is important to direct the student’s state-of-mind as soon as possible to deal with the possibility of post-traumatic stress disorder.
FRMC is proud of the pre-hospital notification response to the attack.
More information will be available about the victims in a week, according to Kaufman.