Student stabbed at Bryan Station High; another student charged

A student at Bryan Station High School in Lexington has been charged with first-degree assault, accused of stabbing another student Thursday morning in a small classroom, school officials said.

The male victim was stabbed with a pocketknife and was treated for injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, Fayette County Public Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said. The student, who was stabbed about 11 a.m., was able to walk to an ambulance. By mid-afternoon, Bryan Station principal James McMillin sent an email to parents saying the injured student had been “treated by the doctors and should be going home soon. He is going to be just fine.”

McMillin said the assault was an isolated incident and no other students were in danger. Deffendall said the student who did the stabbing was in handcuffs within one minute because school law enforcement officers and school administrators were quickly summoned to the classroom as part of the school’s notification system when behavioral incidents occur.

There was no outburst leading up to the incident, Deffendall said.

Lexington police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said the school’s law enforcement would handle the investigation.

“I’m disheartened to share with you that one of our students was assaulted this morning by another student with a pocketknife,” McMillin said in his first email to parents. “There is no tolerance for violence of any kind at Bryan Station High School.”

He said in a second email that in addition to any consequences through the juvenile court system, the student who was arrested will have serious administrative consequences from the school district.

“Be assured that we will take appropriate disciplinary action,” McMillin said. “My job now is to both reflect and have discussions with law-enforcement officers, school staff and district leaders to look at the safety precautions and structures that we have in place and decide if anything needs to change.”

McMillin said students, staff and families have worked to transform Bryan Station High School, which state officials had said in previous years had behavioral problems.

“We have addressed every safety concern, instituted new protocols and raised expectations on campus,” McMillin said. “The efforts have paid off — office referrals and suspensions have been reduced dramatically and just today we learned that preliminary ACT scores are at an 8-year high. We will continue to work diligently to meet our goal of becoming one of the top high schools in the state.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Student stabbed at Bryan Station High; another student charged."