Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - "We expect our kids to go to school to be in a safe and secure environment that's conducive to learning, and that was not the case in McKinley, and that's one of the reasons why we filed this lawsuit."
The mother of the McKinley High School student who was stabbed 10 times outside of the school on Feb. 9 has filed a lawsuit against the Buffalo Public School District and former Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash, alleging the district had advance knowledge of threats of violence that very day.
The suit, filed in State Supreme Court, claims administrators at McKinley had a meeting with the victim’s cousin about threats just an hour before the attack happened.
"On the particular day in February, this 14-year-old student's cousin went to the principal's office on two occasions, and said, 'I'm being threatened. I fear for my safety,' and essentially saying that he needed help. At 3:09 p.m. ET in the principal's office, showing, I believe it was the vice principal, texts, social media about these threats, and they did nothing," said attorney John Elmore, representing the 14-year-old victim and his mother in this lawsuit. "They didn't say call your parents to have your parents come and pick you up. They didn't notify security on site, they didn't call the police. They just simply sent the kid to his last class and made no provisions for his safe trip home."
Elmore also pointed out in this lawsuit that Dr. Cash had also been notified by the President of the Buffalo Teachers Federation, Phil Rumore, of a long track record of violence at McKinley High School that were never addressed.
"The school had a history of violence," Elmore said on WBEN with Brian Mazurowski. "When you have the president of the teachers union sending a letter to the superintendent saying there's been 40 incidents of violence between September and December where teachers have been injured, where students have been injured. As superintendent, we want you to do something to make the school safe, and he didn't do anything."
Back in February, Elmore said his firm filed a Notice of Claim on behalf of the victim, Sirgio Jeter. That notice is the first step required to commence litigation against a government entity in New York State, and was signed by the teen's mother, Aurielle Austin, who is the plaintiff in the suit.
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"Notice of Claim, by law, has to be filed within 90 days, we filed it within the statute," Elmore explained. "Then we cannot file a lawsuit until the district has an opportunity to question under oath the people who are alleging misconduct or negligence on behalf of the city. My 14-year-old client and his mother were both questioned under oath within the past four weeks, so we timely filed a lawsuit, which we had one year and 90 days to file."
The 14-year-old victim was stabbed a total of 10 times and suffered a punctured lung, and wounds to his stomach and colon.
"This is a kid that has no previous instance of discipline. He's a kid that just loved life, he wanted to be a football player in high school," Elmore said. As a result of being stabbed multiple times... he's emotionally damaged and he's physically damaged."
Elmore also adds that the family feels the school and the district failed to protect Jeter on that Wednesday in February, and are enrolling him into a new school next week.
A security guard was also shot in the leg during the altercation that happened shortly after classes ended for the day.
Two 17-year-olds have been charged with attempted murder in the attack.