Philadelphia teachers union calls stabbing at Castor Gardens Middle School "epic" failure
There are serious questions about how a sixth-grade boy was able to bring a knife to Castor Gardens Middle School and stab two employees.
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is demanding a thorough investigation into how this happened and slamming the school administration for what it calls a major security failure. Meanwhile, the union is praising the actions of a paraprofessional who ran up and down the hallways warning teachers not to open their doors because the student was still armed, possibly saving lives.
Police say Tuesday around noon, an 11-year-old boy pulled out the knife during math class, and when two teacher's aides tried to pry it away, they were stabbed.
The employees were treated for minor injuries.
The student was detained until police arrived. Police said the student is not in custody and has not been charged because of a disability.
The Office of School Safety is investigating how the student was able to get into the school with a kitchen knife.
A district spokesperson says somehow the school's metal detectors did not pick up the weapon. The union says staff members reported inconsistency in how the metal detector screening process was enforced.
Union officials say students had a lot of questions at school Wednesday.
"They didn't get alerts, they also were concerned about: Was the child going to be back in the building? Would they be safe? So teachers did all they could to reassure them and let them know that they were safe with them and that everything would be OK," LeShawna Coleman, chief of staff at the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said.
Union president Arthur Steinberg said the incident "really should not have occurred."
"It's due to really an epic administrative failure at the school level. The details that I have received from our members are pretty disturbing," Steinberg said.
In a statement, the school district said the student passed through a minimally invasive gun detection scanner when he entered the building.
The device is set up to detect firearms. Officials are planning to re-evaluate safety measures across the district.
