Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office investigating reported stabbing of elementary principal
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a stabbing incident that allegedly occurred at South Point Elementary School.
At about 1:41 p.m. Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office received a call from the elementary school advising that the principal had been stabbed by a parent of a student. They advised that the suspect was still in the building.
Within one minute of receiving the call, a South Point Police officer arrived. He then confronted the suspect, who was found to be a 43-year-old male from Huntington, W.Va., and took him into custody.
As this situation was developing, the school went into immediate lockdown. No children were harmed during this incident.
It is alleged the suspect entered the building stopping by the front office. The principal met him in the hallway just outside the office door. The suspect had been upset over a child custody issue.
As the principal was talking with the suspect, the suspect allegedly pulled a knife from his pocket and began to stab the principal in the neck and upper torso. The principal fled back into the office behind a locked door, at which point the suspect allegedly broke the glass out of the window in the door and entered the office.
The suspect is alleged to have pursued the principal through multiple parts of the office and finally into the cafeteria area. This is where the South Point Officer confronted the suspect and took him into custody.
The principal was treated at the scene by the school nurse and then by the Lawrence County EMS, who transported him to a local area hospital.
The suspect suffered cuts to his arms, possibly from the glass window that he broke, and he had to be transported to the hospital as well. A warrant was issued for the suspect for felonious assault, a second-degree felony. Deputies rode with the suspect to the hospital, and the Huntington, W.Va. Police arrested the suspect on the warrant that was issued.
An extradition hearing will be held on the suspect prior to him being returned to Lawrence County to face charges. Additional charges may be filed on the suspect as the investigation continues.
BCI&I Crime Scene Unit will be processing the scene as Lawrence County Detectives continue this investigation.
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