Early Monday morning, a student at Mountain View High School in Orem attacked and stabbed several other students.
The incident occurred in a locker room before a 7:30 A.M. PE class. A sixteen-year-old white male stabbed five students in the neck and torso. Authorities say the suspect is also a student in his sophomore year at Mountain View High School. After injuring others, the suspect stabbed himself before he was tazed by a school resource officer, who then took him into custody.
According to Alpine School District spokesperson Kimberly Bird, the suspect was homeschooled before this year, but she said his history didn’t show any warning signs.
“In his first term, straight A-s, great attendance, just from all that know him, no indicators that would have given us an alarm or an alert or a worry,” Bird said.
With no current indication of mental health history or school bullying of the suspect, school administrators and police are beginning an investigation into possible motives. Bird said understanding and dealing with this issue needs to go beyond the school where it took place.
“This could have happened in the parking lot. It could have happened in the entrance, just before you go into the school,” Bird said. “I think that’s what’s sad about this whole situation, we’ve got a larger community issue here that we need to take care of and address, and I don’t know that there’s an easy answer.”
Both the victims and the suspect were taken to local hospitals. Their conditions range from fair to critical but everyone involved has so far survived the attack. Authorities would not provide additional information based on their parents’ requests for privacy.