3 days ago
More victims and bloodshed were intended in sword attack at Brandon high school, police say
A 16-year-old boy who used a sword to seriously injure another student at Brandon's Neelin High School had plans for more victims but was stopped by the swift actions of officials and officers, the western Manitoba city's police chief says.
A 15-year-old boy is in stable condition in hospital, recovering from stab wounds to the chest, forearms, hands and thigh, police have said.
"We know that certainly the harms that were intended were beyond the individual victim involved," Chief Tyler Bates said at a news conference on Wednesday.
"We do believe that those intentions were interrupted — that the response of our officers prevented further bloodshed."
Bates wouldn't go into further details about what exactly happened Tuesday afternoon.
"The finer details will come to light in due course," he said.
The attacker and the victim are both students at the school and knew one another, he said. The motivation behind the attack, though, is still under investigation, Bates said.
Police were called at 1:15 p.m. and by 1:22 p.m. the 16-year-old was in custody. Officers used a Taser to subdue and disarm him.
"In the face of mortal danger, our Brandon Police Service officers demonstrated exceptional bravery, professionalism and restraint. They ran towards the threat, risking their own safety with both composure and care," Bates said.
That composure resulted in the outcome being far less tragic than it could have been if officers chose instead to use their firearms, he said.
"Use-of-force situations are dynamic, they're chaotic, and they require split-second decision-making under immense stress."
Officers were responding to what they were told was someone armed with a sword and "going crazy," Bates said.
It was an incident involving someone not only presenting a lethal threat, but who had already attempted to take someone's life, he said.
"The presence of mind of our officers … in this particular situation to incapacitate the offender is really quite remarkable."
The 16-year-old faces charges of attempted murder, uttering threats, possession of a weapon and wearing a disguise.
Bates doesn't know if the teen had any prior dealings with police. The school resource officer, who is well-acquainted with the students, did not have prior dealings with him, he said.
No information was given about the disguise or whether police believe the teen was under the influence of anything at the time.
"At this juncture of the investigation, there's no indication that we're talking about altered states or a situation where drugs were specifically involved," he said.
As for mental health concerns, "clearly the actions are deranged."
Bates asked for patience and understanding as witness interviews are ongoing and details continue to emerge.
"We understand the deep emotional toll that this event has taken on the entire school community. Traumatic events like this affect everybody and have a ripple effect — students, families, teachers, the broader public, emergency responders," he said.
"There's much recovery that needs to take place in the aftermath of this tragedy. A school should always be a place of safety, a place to learn, grow and thrive. Tragically, yesterday, one of our schools … became a scene of trauma and danger."
He urged anyone struggling in the wake of the incident to reach out to mental health resources at the school or health-care providers and other organizations within the community.
School-police relationship lauded
The school was immediately put into lockdown when school staff realized what was happening. That was lifted once the attacker was custody.
"The actions taken were not by chance on this day, but the result of preparation, care and a commitment to student safety," Bates said, praising school staff and officers.
"On this day we were prepared. The response was seamless and it's because of that practice and relationship that has been pre-established and built with Brandon School Division."
School resource officers get ARTO (assessment of risk to others) and VTRA (violence threat risk assessment) training from the police service.
That training and relationship "speaks to the recognition of potential harm and risk in that environment," Bates said.
"How we're presently responsive to that is something that is always under discussion — should we be looking at how we can mitigate risks and events such as this? How do we make the schools as safe as they can possibly be?"
That has resulted in the specialized training now in place and the presence of school resource officers.
"I think we would be remiss if we didn't continually look at other potential enhancements to school safety," Bates said.
