A central Alberta school division says it is arranging counselling for students and staff after a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in a library by another teen Monday.
Police said the boy was stable after surgery.
A 16-year-old schoolmate was in custody after the attack at Pigeon Lake Regional School in Falun, about 80 kilometres southwest of Edmonton. Some 250 students from grades 7 to 12 attend the school.
“I’ve been in education 39 years and this is the first time this type of thing has happened,” said Peter Barron, superintendent of Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools.
“It’s deeply troubling. (The) community experienced trauma as a result of this and this is going to be very challenging moving forward to deal with.”
Mr. Barron said morning classes were in session and there were other students and staff in the library who witnessed the stabbing.
The school division said it would be reaching out to nearby schools to see if students there need counselling as well.
Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, a spokesperson for RCMP, said charges were pending.
Both boys are enrolled at the Pigeon Lake school, he said.
The school was under lockdown after the stabbing, but police said that had been lifted and there was no danger to the public.
In Edmonton, six boys and one girl – ages 14 to 17 – face charges of second-degree murder in the death of a 16-year-old boy who was assaulted near a high school earlier this month.
Karanveer Sahota died in hospital from a stab wound to the chest after the April 8 attack near McNally High School.
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