At Ola Middle School in McDonough, Georgia, a seventh-grade student was brutally stabbed 14 times, resulting in her mother filing a $3 million lawsuit against school administrators.
Ashley Wilson, the mother of the victim, has taken legal action following the March 15, 2023 incident, which has raised serious concerns about the safety and responsiveness of school staff to threats of violence.
The lawsuit alleges that school officials were aware of the threat posed by the attacker, identified only as ‘C.S.’, who was known to have a knife and had made threats against other students. Despite this knowledge, no action was taken by the school to mitigate the risk. On March 14, a day before the attack, school resource officers reported that ‘C.S.’ had a knife on school premises and was making threats against different students, not A.L., yet this crucial information seemingly went unheeded.
The following day, the victim, identified as A.L., was on her way to class when she was followed, confronted, and attacked by ‘C.S.’ in the school’s gymnasium in front of a crowd of students and teachers. The attack was severe, with A.L. sustaining injuries to her face, head, neck, shoulder, back, and chest. Only a 13-year-old boy stepped in to pull the girl off A.L.. This gruesome event necessitated multiple surgeries, including plastic surgery, and caused significant emotional trauma to the young girl.
The physical aftermath of the attack was disturbing, as described by Wilson: she was in a blood-covered state, her clothes having been torn from her body during the assault. The family has since moved away from the area, and A.L. is now being homeschooled while continuing to receive psychological counseling.
The lawsuit, which seeks damages for both medical costs and psychological pain, highlights the failure of the school to ensure the safety of its students.
Attorney Andrew Gould, representing Wilson, emphasized the school’s responsibility to protect all people on its premises. The school district’s policy mandates a one-year expulsion for students found with a weapon, indicating that protocols for such incidents do exist, but were not followed in this case.
In response to the incident and the lawsuit, the Henry County school system has recently invested in advanced weapon detection technology at its high school stadiums, a move aimed at enhancing safety at school events. This much, however, comes after the tragic event that has already deeply impacted the community and the lives of those involved.
