A school fight between students at a middle school in Winter Haven, Florida ended in a stabbing and the arrest of a 15-year-old student.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, they received calls about a stabbing inside the Westwood Middle School at around 1:10 pm on Wednesday, March 8. Responding officers found a 14-year-old with a stab wound in the school and began searching for the culprit, a 15-year-old boy.
Witnesses told police that a fight broke out between the two boys shortly before police were called to the scene. At some point during the fight, the 15-year-old boy removed a fixed-blade kitchen knife he was carrying and stabbed the 14-year-old.
The older boy fled the school building, and the school was put under lockdown as law enforcement officers searched for the teen.
Officers finally found him about 40 minutes later, after receiving reports that he was hiding at a relative’s home near the school. Police arrested him at 1:43 pm at the home and questioned the boy, who told them he had thrown the weapon behind a nearby trailer.
Police recovered the knife after the teen took them to where he threw it.
Deputies took the wounded student to a nearby hospital, where he was treated.
Authorities reportedly charged the 15-year-old boy with several felonies.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said they would not tolerate such violent criminal behavior, adding that the student was facing serious felony charges.
Sheriff Judd commended his partnership with the Polk County Public Schools, thanked his deputies for their quick action, and wished the victim a quick recovery.
