Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Buffalo Police Department announced on Twitter late Thursday night it has one suspect in custody relating to an incident at McKinley High School on Wednesday.
According to Buffalo Police, a 17-year-old male has been arrested in connection to Wednesday's incident that saw a 14-year-old male student stabbed multiple times just outside McKinley High School on Elmwood Avenue. He was arraigned shortly after midnight on Friday, and will return to court on Monday at 9:30 a.m. EST before Youth Part Judge Kelly Brinkworth.
The Erie County District Attorney's Office announced the adolescent offender was arraigned on one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Assault in the First Degree (Class "B" violent felonies).
"I am deeply disturbed by the violence that has occurred at McKinley High School," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn in a statement on Friday. "This schoolyard fight escalated into attempted murder when this boy was stabbed multiple times, allegedly, by this student. We will be aggressively prosecuting this case in Youth Part. I hope that this horrific event and the arrest of this student sends a strong message to all of the young people in our community that there are serious consequences to engaging in violent, criminal behavior. We will not tolerate violence in our schools.
"I want to thank the members of the Buffalo Police Department who have been working this case non-stop since [Thursday] afternoon, as well as all of the other agencies who assisted in this investigation.”
Flynn says the 17-year-old suspect was not acting alone in Wednesday's incident. They are also looking for other individuals that had a hand in the beating and stabbing of the 14-year-old student.
"He was arraigned under the legal theory of accomplice liability," Flynn said of the 17-year-old in custody. "I'm not going to tell you how many other individuals who were involved, but I will say there were multiple people involved in the assault on the victim."
The 14-year-old victim was stabbed a total of 10 times during the altercation: Nine times in the midsection and once in the leg. He currently remains in stable condition at Oishei Children's Hospital.
Also, Crime Stoppers Buffalo is asking for the public's assistance in tracking down one individual that was responsible for shooting a 27-year-old school security guard that was trying to break up the fight just outside of the school. That school security guard was shot and treated at ECMC with a leg wound.
In addition, Buffalo Police says a 13-year-old student was also shot in the incident, but he treated on Thursday after he was grazed by a bullet in the arm.
Flynn believes there was a brewing dispute that occurred earlier in the day on Wednesday.
"That dispute rolled over into the parking lot of McKinley High School, just outside the greenhouse after school was dismissed," he added.
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Mayor Byron Brown said the COVID-19 pandemic and a proliferation of illegal weapons had contributed to increasing violence among young people and called Wednesday's fight “a terrifying experience.”
“People are angry, people are frustrated,” Brown said. “People are fearful, and in particular I think our young people have been impacted.”
