A 14-year-old boy has been accused of stabbing two students at a high school in Clearwater, Florida.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that the alleged stabber chose his victims Thursday at Countryside High School at random and intended to attack others.
“This was a lone suspect who conducted an intentional and targeted act,” Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy said. “This individual idolized serial killers, domestic terrorists, hated humanity and wanted recognition for this incident.”
Police say the boy would be charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Among the evidence collected by investigators is a manifesto from the boy, which showed he “was intent on killing people,” Gandy said.
The first person attacked was a 14-year-old ninth-grade boy, who was stabbed in the neck as he walked past the suspect. The suspect then allegedly stabbed a 16-year-old 11th-grade boy in the chest and abdomen.
“Other students began to notice what happened, and a friend of victim No. 2 briefly took chase of the suspect,” Gandy said. “Upon realizing he was armed with a knife, he approached our SROs.”
One of the school resource officers then chased the teen and “challenged him at gunpoint,” according to the police chief.
Additional school resource officers, Clearwater police officers and Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the school after the stabbings, he said. After the suspect was taken into custody, they joined efforts to help the injured students until they could be taken to area hospitals.
The 14-year-old ninth-grader was taken to All Children’s Hospital, where he was treated and released. The 16-year-old underwent surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital Thursday night and is in stable condition, Gandy said.
