Father Year – By Tahna Weston
Father Year Old Stabbing
A 42-year-old father is calling for urgent action to address violence in schools after his 14-year-old son was stabbed on the premises of a secondary school on Monday in an incident that he said could easily have claimed the boy’s life.
The man, who requested anonymity, told Observer that his son was stabbed on the left side of his chest during what appeared to begin as a physical altercation involving pushing between students. What made the incident particularly alarming was the weapon used — a knife concealed inside a comb.
“He told me he was at school and some other guy mussa push the other guy on him and he push back the guy; and he said the guy came back at him. He said the guy hit his head and was looking for something to hit him [the 14-year-old] but he could not find anything.
“He said he was just there standing and in split second, he realized he get stab in his chest, the left side of his chest with a knife, and the knife was inside of a comb. They have some comb like that,” the Grays Farm man said.
The father said he was informed that both his son and the other student had not prior altercation. He could not say what prompted the other student to push the attacker onto his son.
The matter has since been reported to the police. The school subsequently contacted the family and a meeting has been arranged, though it will take place after the victim completes a week’s recovery at home. While the stab wound was not described as life-threatening as the young man was treated and discharged, the father said he was deeply shaken by how close to tragedy the incident came.
“It’s on his left side, you know. It could have been worse than that. He was taking drips and so, and they were checking his heart rate. He was at the hospital for several hours.
The father revealed that concerns about his son’s safety at school were not new. He said the 14-year-old had a history of being bullied that stretched back to his primary school years and continued when he transitioned to secondary school.
The man said his son is not known to be a troublesome child and that this was the first such incident he was involved in.
He also described his worry about the safety of not only his own son but children in schools generally as constant, and expressed deep concern about the growing trend of young people resorting to violence.
“I used to hear that he always get bullied from since primary school and then he got to secondary school.
“It seems like a lot of [students] go to school to look problems because if you realize the generation of today every minute it’s some kinda fighting … and it na sound good or look good neither,” the man said.
The incident has re-ignited public conversation about the presence of concealed weapons on school compounds and what more can be done to protect students from harm.
The father said that as a result of the incident the school has issued a communique instructing that no brushes, combs or any other foreign objects that is not linked to learning should be brought onto the premises.
“By right they should not be going to school with no comb, unless it’s book, pencil or pen. A lot of people have kids going to school and me sure some a dem fear sometimes because there is always some problem at school.
“They should have better security at the schools to check — even if you have to have something like a walk-through to scan them, so when [they] come to school, you know it’s book, pencil and pen, nothing else. If you get catch with anything other than what you are supposed to come with at school, call the parents, you get write up, suspend or whatsoever,” the Grays Farm man said.