PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have arrested a 13-year-old girl after the teen pulled out a pair of scissors and stabbed two students and a teacher during a fight at Pines Middle School, Friday morning, officials said.
According to investigators, the altercation between two 13-year-old female students had begun over text messages.
“The girls that fought, they had beef, I guess,” said one student.
The students brought that fight to school, and witnesses said one of the girls lunged at the other in a hallway as students were heading to first period. “It happened in the common area, in the hallway,” said student Rahmir Nappier.
One witness, who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera, described what happened next. “One of the girls that was fighting pulled out scissors from her pants and started to try to stab the student,” he said.
“She was trying to stab her in the face, chest and cheek,” said Nappier.
The unidentified witness said a female teacher and a male student tried to break up the fight. Both of them, in addition to the other 13-year-old, received cuts or stab wounds from the scissors. “She got stabbed, and another boy who was trying to stop [the fight], his hand got cut,” he said. “One of the security guards was able to hold her down and keep her controlled.”
Pembroke Pines Police responded to the scene, just before 9:15 a.m., and took the teen who pulled out the scissors into custody. She was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center and is facing a list of charges.
Investigators said both female victims sustained stab wounds to the shoulder. “The teacher had to go to the hospital, and one of the students had to get a Band-Aid because it wasn’t a severe cut, but [serious enough] that you would need to put a Band-Aid on it,” said the unidentified witness.
Cellphone video captured the female student’s shoulder injury. Officials said all the injuries were not life-threatening.
Police identified the teacher as 59-year-old Dorthea Oatt. The victim, who teaches language arts at the school, was treated at the hospital and released.
Students who recorded the incident were told by school officials to delete the videos. They said school administrators confiscated some of their phones.
Parents told 7News they were not told about the incident until around 3:30 p.m. “I found out through the Broward County Public Schools app,” said Vanessa Rodriguez. “They emailed us before the bell rang.”
Concerned mother Ester Castro said her daughter is concerned for her safety at the school. “She’s so scared. She says, ‘I don’t know, Mom. Every day something happens,'” she said. “You go to the restrooms, there are girls fighting.”
When asked if she’s considering taking her daughter to a different school, Castro replied, “Yeah. I don’t think she wants to come here anymore.”
The Broward County School Board released a statement that read in part: “The incident was determined to be a mutual altercation and the result of a personal conflict between the two students. School staff and the SRO [School Resource Officer] responded immediately to the incident and followed all proper protocols. Pembroke Pines Police and the District’s Special Investigative Unit also responded.”
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