One student was slashed in the face and another was stabbed in the chest during a fight at a Manhattan high school, police said.
Police say two boys, both teenagers, got into a scuffle at Mather Building Arts and Craftsmanship High School on West 50th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues just after 1 p.m. I got caught up in it. At one point during the fight on the fourth floor, one of the teens was slashed in the face and the other was stabbed in the chest.
A school safety union representative told NBC New York that both students were armed with knives. Union representatives say the school does not have scanners.
One of the students was taken to Bellevue Hospital, but his condition was not immediately disclosed. It is unclear whether the other teen required medical treatment as a result of the scuffle.
It is not clear what led to the fight.
As a result, the four schools that share campuses on the block were forced to temporarily close. Some people who were on break at the time were evacuated as a precaution.
“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority. Violence has absolutely no place in our schools and this behavior will not be tolerated. Our outstanding school staff and NYPD School Safety Officers “The school was placed under soft lockdown,'' the city's Department of Education said in a statement.
Police said this was one of two stabbings at the high school on Tuesday. An 18-year-old student was slashed in the back and arms outside a high school in the Glen Oaks neighborhood of Queens just before 3 p.m.
The victim in the incident was taken to Manhasset Hospital and is expected to survive. The search for the suspect continued.
