Grief counselors available after 17-year-old stabs 2 classmates at Wharton HS, school says

WHARTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Wharton High School resumes classes after a stabbing incident led to their campus to go on lockdown Wednesday afternoon.

The school said counselors will be available for students as they return to class.

The stabbing happened during a lunchtime fight between multiple students, which left two of them wounded.

The Wharton Independent School District elaborated on earlier reports by the Wharton County Precinct 2 Constable's Office, which confirmed that two students were being treated after the stabbing.

Wharton Police Department added that the school district's law enforcement received reports of multiple stabbings at the high school at about 1:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

"Two alleged subjects were located and quickly taken into custody by officers and deputies," Wharton PD wrote in a news release.

The wounded students were both alert and conscious, police added. They later updated that both are stable.

A key point that police wanted to make clear was that the stabbing appears student-driven and not the result of anyone gaining access to the school from outside. All other students are safe, the school district emphasized.

In a letter written by Superintendent Michael J. O'Guin Sr., one student was rushed to a local hospital while another was flown by Life Flight for medical attention. The student sent to the local hospital was then airlifted to Houston for treatment.

Wharton ISD has deferred the investigation to Wharton PD.

The fight

A news conference taking place after Wharton High School was placed on lockdown revealed the suspect who committed a stabbing was about to be jumped by classmates.

By late afternoon, O'Guin and Wharton PD Chief Terry Lynch clarified what happened based on video evidence in the cafeteria, witness statements, and other preliminary information.

According to Lynch, a 17-year-old allegedly committed the stabbings just as two of his similarly-aged classmates were about to assault him. The teen suspect then took off on foot, disposing of his bladed object.

Officers were able to detain the suspect in a locked-down classroom, the chief said.

The two people who were stabbed were charged with Class A assault counts, while the armed student faces a tampering with evidence charge.

The reason for the fight was not immediately disclosed by the district or police.