Jacksonville police file juvenile petitions against 3 teens following Northside High School fatal attack

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Police said that they’ve filed juvenile petitions against three teenagers surrounding the death of a Northside High School student and the injury of another.

Jacksonville police filed petitions against two 16-year-old boys and a 15-year-old boy.

One of the 16-year-olds is accused of voluntary manslaughter, possession of a weapon on school campus or property, assault with a deadly weapon, and assault on a school official. The other teens are facing two counts of assault and 1 count of disorderly conduct at school.

Jacksonville police said that one student died and another was injured in a stabbing Thursday morning.

Chief Mike Yaniero said that when the attack started, a school resource officer was on scene within 20 seconds and asked for help at 7:01 a.m. for a report of a physical altercation. It was discovered that two students had been stabbed just inside a common area of the school.

Yaniero said that one student was taken into custody. The school was on lockdown until 8:45 a.m.

Medical care was given by faculty at the school to those who were injured, the chief said.

Police said the two students were taken to Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune where one succumbed to their injuries.

Yaniero said that he believes one teacher was injured as well, but not stabbed. They were treated by EMS at the scene with minor injuries and not brought to the hospital.

When asked about the weapon used in the stabbing, the chief said that is part of the investigation.

Police said the next of kin of the victims have been notified, but due to them being minors, their names are not being released.

Given that the stabbing occurred within a common area of the school, when asked whether it’s fair to say a lot of other students witnessed the attack, Yaniero said, “Yes, and that will take us some time to sort through that.” Police will interview students who saw or may have seen the attack.

The chief said this is an active investigation.

The school system said that classes at Northside High School are cancelled for the rest of the day and that Friday will be a virtual day. We’re told students will return to face-to-face learning on Tuesday. All athletic events at the school have been cancelled for Thursday and Friday.

“I want to say a special thank you to our staff who has done an outstanding job of being able to handle a situation like this,” Superintendent Dr. Barry Collins said. “Everyone that needed to be notified was notified.”

Collins said as far as security in the school district, staff have made efforts this past year to put an SRO at every school, two even at the larger high schools, as well as other measures like swipe-in door locks, and ring-in cameras.

Still, Collins added, “But probably there are some other things that we’re gonna have to look at and those are the type of things that we’re gonna be looking at in the next days and weeks.”

Yaniero would not immediately confirm whether the stabbing was gang-related, saying that is part of the ongoing investigation.

Sally Todd, a parent of a Northside High School student, said she got a call from her middle-school-aged daughter just before getting an alert from OCS to pick up her son from the high school.

“I was getting ready to go to work and then I text my son and ask him if he was okay and then he let me know they was getting out of school early,” Todd said. “She told me that they are on shut down, they won’t let the students off the bus because someone had got stabbed at the high school.”

Bob Williams, Onslow County school board chairman, said counselors will be at the school Thursday to speak with staff and will also be there Tuesday to work with students.

Crisis counselors from the city were also on the scene around 7:30 a.m., Yaniero said.

Previous Story:

A student is dead and a teacher injured following an attack at a high school in Jacksonville.

A source who has been briefed on what happened tells WITN that a student was stabbed and a teacher cut during an attack just inside the main entrance of Northside High School.

Officials at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune tell WITN that there are victims from the situation at Northside High School at their facility.

Riley Eversull, public affairs officer, said that the hospital received two victims from the incident at Northside High School and are currently being treated.

Eversull was not able to share their condition.

Jacksonville police are holding a press conference at 11 a.m.

Previous Update:

Police are providing few details following a situation Thursday morning at an eastern Carolina high school.

Jacksonville police sent out a press release saying that around 7:02 a.m. a call was received regarding an incident at Northside High School.

We’re told it’s being actively investigated.

“Police have deemed this an isolated incident, and have declared there is no threat to students or the general public,” according ot the release.

A press conference is expected at 11 a.m.

Previous Update:

Police are investigating an incident at an Eastern Carolina high school Thursday morning.

A spokesperson from the school system says police are looking into an isolated incident at Northside High School in Jacksonville.

Police are asking people to avoid the area within a three-mile radius of the school to give officers room to investigate.

There is currently no threat to the public. The Jacksonville Police Department is expected to hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday to release more details.

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