A Florida high school student who stabbed two of his peers this week “idolized” serial killers and terrorists and was fixated on school shooters, ABC Action News reports.
Around 11:20 a.m. Thursday, an unidentified 14-year-old stabbed one victim in the neck and another in the chest and abdomen in the concourse area of Countryside High School in Clearwater, near Tampa.
A school resource officer chased the suspect before stopping him at gunpoint and arresting him.
“It was anybody and everybody, as I said homicidal pick-them-at-random. Had we not intervened, he would have stabbed more people,” Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy told reporters at a press conference on Friday, according to Fox 13.
Medics rushed both victims, ages 14 and 16, to area hospitals. The 14-year-old, who was stabbed in the neck, has since been released, while the 16-year-old underwent surgery and was in the ICU.
Gandy alleged that the suspect “idolized” serial killers and domestic terrorists, and that he “hated humanity,” according to Fox 13. The teen also allegedly had handwritten a manifesto and expressed fixations with school shooters.
The suspect enrolled at Countryside in January and had moved around previously, but officials say he has no known disciplinary history. He faces two counts of first-degree murder, according to WFLA-TV.
Investigators are contacting other school districts where the teen was enrolled to assess whether any warning signs might have been missed.
The stabbing prompted a two-hour lockdown.
One mom of a student at Countryside told ABC Action News that her son should not have to worry about being murdered at school.
“He’s scared, and, you know, he shouldn’t be,” the unidentified woman told the television station. “He should be able to go to school and not worry about these things, but I guess this is the day and age we live in. It’s terrifying.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Feature Photo: Shutterstock]
