The 14-year-old McKinley High School student who was stabbed during a fight Wednesday was knifed 10 times during the assault and was beaten and left with bruises and abrasions, Buffalo authorities said Friday.
Nine of the knife wounds "were to the chest and abdomen and one was to the leg," Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said at a news conference.
Buffalo Police said late Thursday that they had a 17-year-old male in custody in connection with an incident that occurred a day prior at McKinley High School in which a 14-year-old boy was stabbed and a security guard was shot.
Authorities believe tensions between two groups of students at the school that had been brewing all day Wednesday became a fight that broke out in the parking lot, Flynn said.
Between 15 and 20 people were in the lot when the fighting began.
Authorities believe multiple people assaulted the teen who ended up being stabbed, Flynn said.
A fight that led to a 14-year-old student being severely stabbed and a security guard shot in the leg outside Buffalo’s McKinley High School s…
Then, someone opened fire with a gun. At that time, a school security officer, who was not believed to be armed, was running toward the parking lot to try to break up the fight. The guard was shot in the leg, Flynn said.
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Also, police learned Thursday that a 13-year-old boy suffered a minor graze wound to his arm during the incident, but didn't seek treatment until later. Police on Friday released two photos of a person who was seen with a gun at the fight.
The new details emerged as police announced the arrest and arraignment of a 17-year-old Buffalo teen, one of several suspects in the case.
The 17-year-old was arrested late Thursday night and was arraigned shortly after midnight on one count of second-degree attempted murder and one count of first-degree assault, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said Friday. His name has not been released because of his age. Authorities said he is a student at McKinley. He is scheduled to appear in court again on Monday.
The DA and police said they are looking for other suspects, including the gunman.
A $5,000 reward for information about the gunman was being offered through Crime Stoppers of WNY.
In response to the shooting, McKinley has switched to remote learning for the rest of the week.
On Friday, the 14-year-old boy remained at Oishei Children's Hospital in stable condition. "He was injured pretty badly and still has a little ways to go," Flynn said.
The guard was treated and released from Erie County Medical Center.
Mayor Byron Brown, who was part of Friday's news conference, said he spoke to the guard's family.
"He is in good spirits and looking forward to coming back to work as soon as possible," Brown said.
Brown speculated that the violence that took place Wednesday was in part due to the disruptive forces of the pandemic, which is stretching on into its third year.
"People are angry; people are frustrated; people are fearful. And in particular, I think our young people have been impacted," Brown said.
He also said there are "too many illegal weapons on the streets of communities all across this country."
Brown said his administration is expanding its summer youth employment program to the winter to keep more young people engaged.
The mayor also dismissed a call by the Buffalo teachers union president Thursday for an outside investigation by state and federal authorities into safety at Buffalo schools. He said that the DA and local agencies were conducting a thorough investigation.
Brown and Flynn spoke several hours before Buffalo Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash held his own news conference, at McKinley, to reassure staff, students and parents that the district is developing a plan to address safety concerns at the high school.
Cash said he agreed with Brown that Wednesday's "traumatic" incident isn't unique to McKinley, or Buffalo schools. But he said the district is taking steps to address concerning incidents, such as fights, that have happened at a slightly higher rate at McKinley and a handful of other schools than on average across the district.
Cash said, of 960 students at McKinley, just 30 or so are considered "in crisis" because of prior incidents.
For one, representatives from non-violence groups will be present at McKinley when students are entering and leaving the building on Elmwood Avenue, as well as inside the school to help keep close tabs on specific high-risk students, Cash said.
And while McKinley does not have school resource officers – on-duty Buffalo police – assigned to the school, Cash said police will have more of a visible presence outside the building in the weeks ahead.
McKinley has five school security guards, and two were still on campus at the time of Wednesday's incident, which happened about 20 minutes after dismissal. Cash on Friday identified the wounded security guard as Bradley Walker. He said the second guard, Jennifer Little, rushed to Walker's side to tend to his injuries following the shooting.
"Those are two heroes," Cash said Friday.
Cash also said the district previously had boosted the number of teacher aides and assistants, from six to 16. And a new principal at McKinley, Moustafa Khalil, started in that position on Thursday in what Cash described as part of the ongoing "reset" at the building.
McKinley students have been learning remotely since Thursday. Cash said students will return to the building starting Tuesday, in a phased-in approach by grade level. He said officials still were working out precise details, which parents should learn by Friday night.
Asked whether he's aware of parents who are afraid to send their children back to McKinley, Cash replied, "What I'm hearing is they can't wait to get back."
