Three students charged in stabbing at Meadowbrook High School

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. – Three students now face charges in the stabbing attack on another student at Meadowbrook High School, Chesterfield police said Wednesday.

“On October 1, at approximately 12:18 p.m., school administrators reported that a fight occurred in a school hallway. The school resource officer responded to the hallway and learned that a 17-year-old male student had been stabbed. “Emergency personnel and additional law enforcement immediately responded to the scene,” Chesterfield police wrote in a statement. “The suspect student, a 14-year-old male, was found at school and arrested without incident. Through investigation, police learned that two male students, both 15 years old, helped the suspect hide the knife after the stabbing. The knife was located by the police at the school.”

The stabbing victim remains in hospital with serious injuries but is in a stable condition. According to police, the victim and the 14-year-old suspect knew each other.

The 14-year-old suspect is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a weapon on school property. He was arrested after the stabbing and taken to Chesterfield Youth Detention Center.

The 15-year-old suspects were also charged with possession of weapons on school grounds and conspiracy after the fact.

The stabbing at Meadowbrook High School and the threat to close Tomahawk Creek Middle School on Tuesday are prompting parents to call on the district to change its current security measures.

“Our children should be safe, able to go to school and come home,” said a parent named JB, who picked up his son from Meadowdale Library on Tuesday after the stabbing forced the school to close early.

“I feel safe and secure, and what’s worse is that the police have to come to make you feel safe and secure,” he said.

Chesterfield County Public Schools, the largest school district in central Virginia, serving approximately 64,000 students, does not currently use metal detectors, weapon detection systems or a clear backpack policy in any of its schools.

After Tuesday’s events, some people took to social media to share different opinions about what the district should do next.

Melissa Hankins commented: “You don’t need metal detectors. They need to deal with all the bullying that’s going on in schools.”

Others, including Jennifer Harlowe, said metal detectors were needed throughout the county.

Shortly after the stabbing Tuesday afternoon, CCPS Interim Commissioner John Murray told reporters that the district was weighing its options.

“We began evaluating the appropriateness, financial reasonableness and logistics of installing weapon detection systems in our schools a few weeks ago,” Murray said. “We observed the tour at one site last week and another site visit to another neighboring district is planned for this Friday.”

The district plans to spend about $42 million on more school safety officers (SSOs) as part of its FY25 budget. It is also in the process of completing its three-year, $300 million vestibule project.

“Vestibules” are small lobby-like areas that provide another layer of protection, according to the district.

“We are enclosing school entrances with lockable vestibules to create secure entrances at each of our facilities where they do not currently exist,” said Scott Carson, CCPS construction manager, in this YouTube video.

“Our families, our teachers, our staff, our administration and most importantly the Board care about ensuring that schools across the district are safer and more secure. So the vast majority believe this is the right thing to do,” Carson said.

CBS 6 spoke with Cliff Lent, a security consultant, last month about the effectiveness of metal detectors, weapon detection systems and other security measures as Chesterfield and several other counties across the commonwealth were targeted by social media threats.

“Schools are not fortresses,” Lent said. “They are not federal prisons. They are not federal buildings.”

When it comes to getting more districts to adopt security technology, Lent says there’s a lot to consider.

“The question is, is it a viable option? Will it realistically end up keeping guns out of schools? And that’s up for debate,” Lent said. “I do not recommend that any school use a metal detector unless you have an armed security guard, preferably a police officer, at the inspection site. Because the question becomes, what are you going to do if you discover a weapon when you’re not trained, how to secure it, retrieve it, etc., how to stow it, all of those things that come into play, if an alarm is displayed and it is actually a firearm. What do we do with them?”

Chesterfield Public Schools offered counseling services to students Wednesday while school was closed. A spokesperson told CBS6 the district will continue to provide support.

All schools in the district will be closed on Thursday, October 3rd for a scheduled holiday.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom for more information.