Student Recovering After Knife Attack on Swansboro HS Bus

Thursday morning started out like most days at Swansboro High School. But as buses began to drop kids off for class, things took a dangerous turn when two female students on one of those buses started to fight.

By: Philip Jones | WNCT
Published: April 10, 2009

A junior at Swansboro High School is recovering after being stabbed in the face on a school bus.

It happened Thursday morning.

But as Nine On Your Side's Philip Jones reports, both the school system and the Onslow County Sheriff's Office are still investigating how and why the attack happened:

Thursday morning started out like most days at Swansboro High School.

But as buses began to drop kids off for class, things took a dangerous turn when two female students on one of those buses started to fight.

“And during the scuffle, one of the female students pulled out a pocket knife,” Onslow County Schools spokesman Earl Taylor said.

Taylor says that student, a 15-year-old freshman, cut the other student, a junior, on the face.

Taylor says the cut only required one stitch and the junior -- who isn't being identified -- is now doing OK.

While Taylor says the student was only cut -- the Onslow County Sheriff's Office is calling it a stabbing.

And the 15-year-old freshman -- who also isn't being identified because of her age -- has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

The trouble didn't stop there, though.

“Even after the school resource officer arrived on the scene, the individual continued to be combative and to assault people,” said Rick Sutherland, inspector general for the sheriff’s office.

Sutherland says the student hit an assistant principal and faces two more assault charges.

Both the sheriff's office and the school system are investigating, but the whole thing has left some community members scratching their heads.

“I don't know what kind of generation we're raising, but it's just unreal,” said Joel Oden, who was at the Food Lion near the school Friday. “When I was a kid, you never heard of anything like that.”

The school system won't say what started the fight because its investigation is ongoing.

Taylor says both students have been disciplined.

The student with the knife could be expelled, suspended or sent to an alternative school -- but Taylor says it isn't clear yet what will happen.