Officers arrest a student involved in a stabbing attack at an Austin middle school

Austin Independent School District police have arrested the student involved in a stabbing at a South Austin middle school Thursday morning.

Covington Middle School Principal Cedric Maddox informed the school community in a letter Thursday afternoon about the incident, which resulted in a student being hospitalized for serious but “non-life-threatening injuries.”

“While today’s incident took a significant emotional toll on our school community, our campus is safe. “Officers arrested the student involved and we can now confirm that a student was stabbed during the altercation,” Maddox said.

The school management is “working directly with the affected families,” said the headmaster.

Maddox noted that he could not provide further details at this time to “protect the integrity of the investigation and the privacy of our students.”

“I realize that having so little information can be unsettling. I want to assure you that the safety and well-being of our students is our top priority,” Maddox added.

School counselors are working with students who witnessed the incident. Additional mental health professionals are available on campus to work with students and staff as needed.

Covington families can contact the school’s front desk to connect with the counseling team.

Stabbing and school evacuation on Thursday morning

Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services responded to a call at Covington Middle School, located at 3700 Convict Hill Road, around 9:07 a.m.

Covington students evacuated the school after a fire alarm went off in the arts wing around 9:10 a.m., which Maddox informed the community about in a letter Thursday morning.

At the time, Austin ISD police believed the fire alarm was triggered by a smoke bomb. They weren’t sure if there was a connection between the stabbing and the fire alarm going off.

Students returned to class after officials searched the campus and determined it was safe to do so. The art wing remained closed as authorities continued to investigate.

Maddox’s afternoon update made no mention of the activated fire alarm.

Austin ISD officials did not respond to LoneStarLive.com’s follow-up questions about whether they could determine whether the stabbing and the fire alarm going off were related.