A New York City high school student was fatally stabbed and another was critically wounded during a fight in a Bronx classroom on Wednesday, police said.
An 18-year-old student was taken into custody after the double stabbing at Urban Assembly School For Wildlife Conservation, according to Det. Ahmed Nasser, a police spokesman.
A 15-year-old student was stabbed in the chest and died later at St. Barnabas Hospital, where another teen was in critical but stable condition with a stab wound to the chest, police said.
"This is something every parent, every morning, worries about -- the safety of their child," Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters. "At this moment we have one child's life was lost, one child fighting for his life and another child -- the one who committed this action -- whose life will be destroyed. This is a painful, painful tragedy."
The fight, which had been brewing since the beginning of the school year about two weeks ago, occurred in a fifth-floor classroom, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said. It started with "back and forth" between the three students and quickly escalated, according to Boyce.
About 20 students had assembled for history class when the fight erupted at 10:45 a.m., Boyce said.
There was no record at the school of a previous dispute between the three, police said. The names of the students were not released.
The suspect, armed with a three-inch switchblade, walked out of the the classroom after the stabbing and handed the weapon to a guidance counselor, Boyce said. He sat in the assistant principal's office until police arrived.
"Every parent has the right to expect that when they send their children to school in the morning, they will come back at 3 o'clock and in very good shape," New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña said. "Today, unfortunately, some families will not be feeling this security."
The high school is not among the nearly 80 New York City schools with metal detectors, officials said. On Thursday, metal detectors and additional school security officers will be made available for random screenings at the school.
"This is a school that, thank god, had been very safe," de Blasio said.
The campus is home to about 1,100 students between the high school, middle school and elementary school, officials said. Counselors will be available Thursday to students and teachers.
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