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20 Students Injured in Pennsylvania High School; Stabbing Suspect in Custody; Doctor Provides Updates on Students at His Hospital

Aired April 09, 2014 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO (on camera): Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We do begin with breaking news out of Pennsylvania. 20 students have been injured in a high school stabbing in suburban Pittsburgh. It happened early this morning at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania; that's about 15 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh.

Here is what we know so far -- 20 students have been injured, 20 students. Several had to be flown to the hospital. Investigators do tell us they have a suspect in custody. Moments ago we spoke to a doctor who treated some of those patients. He says some students will need surgery. We're following the developments and we'll bring you more as they come in to CNN. Right now the school remains on lockdown. As I said, we have a reporter, Dan Stevens is a PIO from Westmoreland County, he's on the phone with me right now. Good morning, sir.

DAN STEVENS, PIO, WESTMORELAND CO., PENNSYLVANIA (via telephone): Good morning.

COSTELLO: Bring us up to date on what you know right now.

STEVENS: At 7:13 this morning the school resource officer at Murrysville -- or at Franklin Regional High School called our 911 center by radio and asked for assistance. When he got back on the radio, we had he had a stabbing, asked for additional law enforcement and multiple ambulances. The actor was taken into custody fairly quickly once it was determined who he was.

We have approximately 20 students that have been injured. Of those 20 students, four of which have been flown by medical helicopter with what appears to be non-life-threatening injuries. Those students were transported to four hospitals, Allegheny General Hospital, Forbes Regional Hospital, UPMC East and Presbyterian Hospital. The suspect is in custody being questioned right now by the Murrysville police department and the Westmoreland county detectives.

COSTELLO: Dan, can you tell me where inside the school this incident happened?

STEVENS: It happened in classrooms and a hallway in the school. School was just actually coming into session. It was, again, quarter after 7:00 in the morning. We have students arriving for school, I believe their sections start at either 7:30 or 7:40. I don't have that information in front of me.

COSTELLO: And does it involve -- this suspect that's in custody, is it a student and does this incident involve just one suspect, just one student perhaps?

STEVENS: Yes, it is a student. It involves only one individual. The school has been searched twice for any additional, and some of the students in the area were immediately questioned to see if there was more than one actor involved. And currently we're recording only one actor.

COSTELLO: Do you know the age of the suspect?

STEVENS: I don't have that information available at this time.

COSTELLO: Boy or girl?

STEVENS: It's a male.

COSTELLO: And this male was allegedly armed with one knife?

STEVENS: Again, I don't have that information. This is breaking, it's about two hours old right now. We will have additional information as the day goes on. COSTELLO: These 20 students who were injured, were they all stabbed or were they injured in some other way?

STEVENS: They were all stab wounds, whether they be lacerations or actual puncture wounds. They were all stabbing-type wounds.

COSTELLO: Dan, I know we have sound from took tore treating those four students flown to the hospital. I want to listen to him now.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DR. CHRIS KAUFMAN, DIRECTOR, TRAUMA CENTER: These are significant injuries. We had two patients who went immediately to the operating room and the third patient is taken to the operating room now, out of the eight patients we have. There are additional patients getting imaging, x-rays and CAT scans and ultrasounds, that may require interventions later on as we discover internal injuries in these patients. But at the present point, these patients are what we call hemodynamically stable and allow the imaging. The two patients who went to the operating room were not stable. They had blow blood pressure and significant bleeding from their stab wounds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That was Dr. Chris Kaufmann the director of the trauma center in Monroeville, that's in Pennsylvania nearby Murrysville, about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh is where the high school is.

And as you heard, to bring you up to date, one suspect now under arrest, a male student. He was armed with a knife of some kind. 20 students stabbed. Jean Casarez has been monitoring the situation from New York. She joins us with more information. Hi, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. What we're hearing, Carol, is the stab wounds can come in various forms and fashions. There are lacerations, there are puncture wounds. We are yet to learn how deep these wounds are because, as we know, a knife is a deadly weapon. But the fact is, there are 20 students now that we are able to confirm that were injured in the stabbing this morning. They were flown by medical helicopter to facilities, no word yet on their condition, but they do range in age from 14 to 17 years old.

As you have just said, the alleged perpetrator of these crimes was a student at the high school. He is now being held in custody. And, you know, Carol, a deadly weapon can come in any form or fashion and a knife is definitely that, a deadly weapon. Once again, this is in Pennsylvania, a state that is very, very serious when it comes to attempted murder.

COSTELLO: Well, authorities just told me -- Dan Stevens just told me that those injuries probably are non-life-threatening, which is very good news Do we know anything more about this student, about his age? Do you know any more about this high school, Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania?

CASAREZ: This is just coming into the NEWSROOM. But we do know regional high school is outside of Pittsburgh -- Murrysville, Pennsylvania. The fact that it's a student is interesting, that it's someone that was normally on the campus, someone normally that went into the school, obviously able to get that knife on. But I think that they're holding close to the vest more information about the student. He is in custody and obviously this is the beginning of a very large legal proceeding.

COSTELLO: This happened, what, about an hour ago. So this occurred right as school was going into session.

CASAREZ: The first call of the incident was actually at 7:15 a.m., 15 minutes after the school doors opened, which is interesting. So this alleged perpetrator was at school the moment it was opened. That shows a state of mind right there, that will be interesting as the investigation continues.

COSTELLO: All right, we have Dan Stevens back on the phone. He is the public information officer for the Westmoreland County police. Welcome back, Dan. Can you bring our viewers up to date once again with the latest information you have coming out of Franklin Regional High School?

STEVENS (via telephone): OK, we're at the Franklin Regional High School located in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County. Currently, we received a call from the school resource officer at approximately 7:13 this morning that he had some type of incident going on. When he came back on the radio after he requested additional assistance, he advised we had a stabbing.

When additional officers got on scene, they took the actor into custody, but before he was able to be taken into custody, approximately 20 students were injured. Of those 20 students, four of which had to be flown by medical helicopter to trauma centers throughout the region. Those students are at Allegheny General Hospital, Forbes Regional Hopistal, UPMC East and University of Pittsburgh Presby.

COSTELLO: How did the officers enter the school? Can you describe that for us?

STEVENS: So the school does have a resource officer so he was in contact with arriving officers as they approached the scene to advise them which way he wanted them to come in. He is staged at the high school routinely every morning. He goes to other schools throughout the district as the day goes on. But Franklin Regional has a school resource officer, so he directed the officers in to different openings to actually corner the suspect.

COSTELLO: Tell us how that went down. How did they corner this -- they just surrounded him? And then did he give up easily?

STEVENS: Again, I wasn't on scene. I can't give you that information. I don't have the tactical measures that they used.

COSTELLO: I understand, sir. I'm just asking you questions and just answer as much as you know. I really appreciate this. Tell us about this high school and this community.

STEVENS: The school district is a very large school district. It's in the western central part of Westmoreland County, a very nice community, normally quiet community. Not a lot of law enforcement activity. But schools have changed and the world (ph) ahs changed over the years, so these type of things happen. We're very fortunate with the Franklin Regional School District, they're very active on school response and school safety programs, we work closely with them, with the Department of Public Safety and school district. We were up here about two months ago working with them on their school plans. So they were prepared for it, but you can plan for these type of things but you're never prepared for when these things actually occur.

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you, there have been so -- sadly, there have been so many incidents in school districts across the country with violence in our schools. Has your community taken any extra steps before this incident to prepare for such a thing in light of what's been happening in the country?

STEVENS: Absolutely. That's why I was saying, Franklin Regional has done a lot with the Department of Public Safety y to train for these types of incidents. And the principal -- superintendent at this school, actually he was principal at one of the other school districts in the county, and we were able to work with them in the past to make sure they were ready. So, again, you can plan for these things, you're just never prepared for them.

COSTELLO: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Dan Stevens from the Westmoreland Police Department. He's the public information officer.

I've got to take a break. But before I go, I want to update our viewers once again. This incident went down just east of Pittsburgh in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, at Franklin Regional High School. At least 20 students were injured, most of them stabbed or slashed by another student allegedly armed with a knife.

That student, a male, is now in police custody. We don't know his age or his name as of yet. But most of the injured were between 14 and 17 years old. Four of the students injured needed surgery. They appear to be doing OK. Those are the initial reports. The others suffered non-life-threatening injuries. We'll be back with much more from Murrysville, Pennsylvania, after this.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: We want to continue following our breaking news at this hour.

Twenty students have been injured at a high school stabbing in suburban Pittsburgh. It happened this morning at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. That's about 50 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh.

Here's what we know so far -- 20 students have been hurt, four of them have been flown to various hospitals. Investigators tell us a suspect is in custody. That suspect is a student. That suspect is male.

Jean Casarez is following the story for us.

Tell us more, Jean.

CASAREZ: Well, here's what we're learning: the students are being released to their parents right now. If their parents are not available, they're being held in a separate location. The school is in lockdown. But the victims range from 14 to 17 years old.

And we are confirming 20 or at least 20 victims have been flown and taken to hospitals. Four we understand needed surgery. They're doing all right at this point. But I think it's too early in the game saying they are doing all right. Surgery is surgery, right?

The one question is who is the student being held, what is his age and why? What would be the motive to take a knife into school, 7:13, 7:15 this morning was when that first call came in. So, the student was there right when the doors were opened of his high school in Pennsylvania.

COSTELLO: Yes. And, you know, students were gathering to go to class, so they were all in a big bunch in the hallway, right? I'm just trying to figure out, one suspect with one knife, 20 students injured although it's not clear that all those injuries came with stab wounds, how he was able to injury so many?

CASAREZ: That's right. When you look at a knife, you can have lacerations where you're just slashing someone or you can penetrate someone with a knife. It appears as though it was an extremely violent attack because 20 victims, that is quite a number of students.

And for everybody, just to remind them, this is Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, which is near Pittsburgh. And you can see students there waiting to pick up their children and school buses in a row, in a line, just bringing students to school today.

COSTELLO: It was interesting to me. I was talking to the public information officer from the Westmoreland County police department. He said that there was a school resource officer on the scene. He is the one that alerted authorities and then police came. So, he was in the school at the time.

CASAREZ: Well, that -- maybe that is luck, but obviously that helped the situation to have an official there that could take action quickly. I think that there are so many questions now, and we are -- they're saying at least 20 victims. So, we are saying 20, but do we really know at this point?

Obviously, the alleged perpetrator is apprehended. But I think we're early in the game. This is a case just unfolding, just developing.

COSTELLO: So, the school has been cleared of students, obviously. It's on lockdown. And now, police are beginning their investigation inside, right? CASAREZ: Yes, this is a crime scene where they will have to investigate every single aspect. They will have to look at the forensic evidence. They will have to pinpoint the evidence, because this perpetrator will be charged, no question about it, probably with numerous crimes. But they will have to link him in forensic ways to the crime scene, along with identification from his fellow students.

COSTELLO: Yes, we don't know the exact response time of police. According to the public information officer, everything went according to plan because sadly so many incidents of violence have happened in schools across the country, that they were prepared for such a thing.

CASAREZ: Prepared for such a thing possibly with a gun. But what about a knife?

You know, there are different types of deadly weapons, I think people always focus on the gun. But the knife is a deadly weapon, too. And maybe there is nothing life-threatening here. We can't truly confirm that if four students have just gotten out of surgery.

But the fact is attempted murder is a very serious charge and a very serious traumatic situation for all these kids to be involved in.

COSTELLO: Yes, ages 14 through 17, the ages of those injured in this attack.

And, Jean Casarez, stay there. I've got to take a break. We'll be back with much more out of Murrysville, Pennsylvania.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

COSTELLO: And just to bringing up to date on breaking news out of Pennsylvania. Twenty students have been injured in a high school stabbing incident in suburban Pittsburgh. It happened early this morning at Franklin Regional High School. That's in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. That's about 50 miles east of downtown Pittsburgh.

Police have arrested a suspect. They tell us that suspect is a student. He was armed with a knife and he injured at least 20 students. Most of them have, of course, been taken to hospitals, some of their injuries are minor, some quite serious.

I want to bring in Dr. Chris Kaufmann. He's the director of the trauma center at the Forbes Regional Hospital in nearby Monroeville.

Welcome, sir.

CHRIS KAUFMANN, FORBES REGIONAL HOSPITAL (via telephone): Thank you.

COSTELLO: Just bring us up to date about how many of the injured that your hospital received.

KAUFMANN: Certainly. We have seven teenagers and one adult brought here to Forbes Trauma Center. COSTELLO: Seven teenagers, one adult. Do you know if that adult is a teacher?

KAUFMANN: I do not know.

COSTELLO: The seven teenagers, do you know their ages?

KAUFMANN: Excuse me.

COSTELLO: Their ages, the seven teenagers.

KAUFMANN: The youngest was 15.

COSTELLO: Fifteen?

KAUFMANN: Yes.

COSTELLO: What are their conditions now?

KAUFMANN: Two are in the operating room right now and another one is being taken to the operating room right now, and we have additional -- four students undergoing CAT scans and imaging to determine whether they may also have injuries that would require interventions in the operating room.

COSTELLO: Can you tell me the nature of their injuries?

KAUFMANN: Yes, the seven teenagers who are injured all have stab wounds to their torsos. So, they have stab wounds to their abdomen, chest and back areas.

COSTELLO: How serious are these injuries?

KAUFMANN: These are quite serious injuries. These are not superficial in nature.

COSTELLO: Not superficial. Are they life-threatening then?

KAUFMANN: Yes, (AUDIO GAP) are clearly life-threatening.

COSTELLO: And, of course, those who have injuries that are life- threatening are, of course, in surgery right now.

KAUFMANN: That's correct. Yes.

COSTELLO: Are you expecting other victims?

KAUFMANN: We are told that we are not expecting additional victims.

COSTELLO: You know, we always admire greatly doctors who handle these kind of situations because you're so important. How are the people at the hospital taking this?

KAUFMANN: We're prepared for this. We're the newest trauma center in Pennsylvania. We only got accredited on October 1st. We had the presence of three trauma surgeons. We had doctors from about 10 different specialties, we had 40 nurses, we had a real outpouring from the entire hospital at the level of support we needed to manage all these patients at the same time.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for filling us in, Dr. Chris Kaufmann, the director of the trauma center at Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Thank you, sir.

KAUFMANN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We are expecting some sort of news conference to happen at 9:30 Eastern. We're not sure if it will go down exactly at that time. But that's what we're awaiting right now. So, I'm going to take a break. I'll be back with much more.

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