Dexter Middle School student not seriously injured in stabbing, officials say
School officials say a Dexter Middle School student is doing fine after being stabbed in the head by another student with an electronic stylus this afternoon.
A stabbing occurred outside Cornerstone Elementary School this afternoon.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
During a bus transfer outside Cornerstone Elementary School shortly before 4 p.m., a sixth grade boy and a seventh grade boy got into a fight. The sixth grade boy punched the seventh grade boy in the head near the ear. He had a pointed object in his hand, and it punctured the skin of the other boy, officials said.
There was a lot of blood, but the item was never lodged in the boy's head, Glass said.
A bus driver assisted the boy and called for help.
"He was conscious, sitting up and asking questions when authorities arrived," said Craig McCalla, principal at Cornerstone.
Walking with their young children who attend Cornerstone Elementary School, Mike and Sikora Tracy of Dexter said they were surprised to hear an incident like that happened outside the school.
"It's a pretty safe school district and if anything comes up, they're good about letting us know," Mike Tracy said.
Officials said they were preparing an email to send out to parents letting them know about the incident.
A regular fundraiser sale called MarketDay, which had a scheduled pickup at Cornerstone Elementary this evening, is continuing as planned.
Derrick Jackson, director of community engagement for the sheriff's department, said the boy accused of the assault was taken into custody. He was being questioned, and it wasn't clear whether he would be held in custody or released to his parents.
Tina Reed can be reached at tinareed@annarbor.com.
Comments
huh7891
Sat, Mar 20, 2010 : 9:31 a.m.
Trekrider would you prefer the article read: Student Poked in Dexter...somehow I don't think that would emphasize the seriousness of the incident....
Charlie Naebeck
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 3:44 p.m.
if this is considered a "stabbing" I sure would love to hear what folks would call the greased pig incident that occured back in my day at the old high school...;)
djm12652
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 3:13 p.m.
@Alexis, thanks for the info. However, if the alleged attacker was indeed punching the victim, how could the stylus puncture his skin? If the stylus was in his hand while clamped in a fist, to punch the movement would be a forward one thus, the stylus would be in a verticle position...but if a downward motion with the stylus in a clenched fist is the action taken, that is a stabbing movement...and why do parents allow kids to have games at school?
Alexis
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 2:37 p.m.
the "electronic stylus" was a DS pen befor the fight he was playing his DS
mama247
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 1:27 p.m.
A very frightening situation for the students. Bus drivers are important members of the academic community. What is going on in Dexter by school social workers and administrators to address bullying and violence?
TrekRider
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 1:18 p.m.
AnnArbor.com's use of the words "stabbed" and "stabbing" in article headlines to describe the incident in Dexter is nothing but tabloid sensationalism. The school-yard incident itself is utterly un-newsworthy to anyone but the parents of students involved. It is sad that AA.com feels the need to engage in such sensationalism to attract readers. The plastic game stylus involved hardly compares to the instruments used in AA.coms own "related articles", which all involve real stabbings. I hope that AnnArbor.com can rise above such tabloid tendencies in the future.
A Dexter Person
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 9:47 a.m.
I believe this incident has been sensationalized. I also think that there are two sides to this story. These students were left unsupervised while waiting for their bus, who knows for how long. They were probably goofing around, laughing, teasing - things kids do when they're in a group. Here's an example: Someone jokingly takes your backpack and runs away with it, you give chase. Others join in. There's pushing and shoving and it goes on until an adult intervenes or someone gets hurt. Unfortunately someone got hurt this time. Was it intentional? Was it really a fight? What went on before hand? And will these students be supervised from now on?
Barb
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 9:20 a.m.
Valerie, I'm pretty sure there is already in place a "zero-tolerance stance" on bullying. There is in Ann Arbor and I'd be pretty surprised if there weren't in Dexter. These things still happen; the kids just get punished more severely with the hope that they learn from the experience. It's never gonna curb it entirely though.
actionjackson
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.
@ MBrown, I totally agree. As a kid of the 50's and 60's growing up us boys fought. Sometimes a little blood, black eye, or in this case a small puncture. Next thing you know kids will be wearing bicycle helmets all day just to make sure they don't bang their precious little heads when they fall down.
M Brown
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 8:53 a.m.
This is just another example of the mass hysteria that takes place these days. HELLO!!!!! It was two adolescent boys fighting. Remember back in the "good old days" when school brawls were considered just what boys do? Now we turn it into a national scandal. Shame on you.
Indicat
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 5:16 a.m.
Mr. Glass and School Board - This should answer the idea of one-tier busing, where K-12 students ride the same bus. I'm sure the fight and the blood were quite scary for K-2 students. Do we really want our younger children subjected to this type of activity on a daily basis? Fights don't occur every day, but the language and crudeness of older students does.
ronn oneal
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 2:49 a.m.
The blood is pumpin faster than normal due to his heart pumping hard because of Fighting. Now will he be charged as an aldult because of the weapon used and other kid's have been charged sentenced as adult's....
racerx
Fri, Mar 19, 2010 : 1:03 a.m.
I'm willing to bet that the sixth grader will not be messed with the next two years he's at the school! Homey just copped some serious bragging rights. Then again, they'll always be another kid wanting to challenge him. All kidding aside, hope all is well. And, as time has shown, these events happens everywhere on any given day. Why would Dexter be any different?
Ashley
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 10:27 p.m.
as much as I would like to agree with you, its not a "only dexter thing" many things happen on accident in different places and get called many other things such as murder, for example hitting someone and they fall down the stairs and dye, suddenly you killed them, or falling asleep behind the wheel because of a medication you are on and then hitting someone on the side of the road could be called attempted murder, yes all extreme examples but that is the best accidental things I can think of right now. I wouldn't be so quick to judge dexter because they said that a child stabbed someone, because intentional or not, he did stab someone, but only with the intention of hitting the kid. I'm sure the authorities have taken the fact that he or she didn't mean to stab the other student.
georgia
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 10:14 p.m.
Not that punching another kid is okay, but when did this become a "stabbing"? It sounds like the 6th grader punched the 7th grader. He had a stylus in his hand and it cut the 7th grader's skin. Only in Dexter is this a "stabbing." Other places might call it a fight with injuries. The poor first kid. Now he's a violent criminal who stabs people, rather than a hothead with poor judgement who punched someone (again, not okay to punch people, but the degree of seriousness is not the same).
Alexis
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 8:24 p.m.
Hello my name is Alexis and I am In 6th grade I go to creekside. I was at the seen of the accident and it was very scary I am kinda happy to say that I stoped the person that stabbed the 7th grader I yelled "HEY! THATS THE KID STOP HIM!!!" and pointed at him then the other people there point and said somthing simaler to that. The whole thing was VERY scary! I talked to my friend about it and he told his mom, his mom said that he (the student that got stabed) had a 98 to 2 chanch on dieing so the student that got stabed is VERY lucky.
Valerie
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 8:16 p.m.
Until bullying is taken with a zero-tolerance stance, things like this will continue in safe districts as well as other districts. So many schools are "handcuffed" by rules, regulations and "political correctness." Everyone has a lawyer; everyone thinks their kid is right. Counselors need to be trained to address bullying immeditately. This includes for the victims as well. My child has been bullied serveral times this year and it seems that we talk about it and then it happens again. Parents need to be involved and take ownership in the problem.
Ashley
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 7:12 p.m.
I just graduated from Dexter High School, and I was very surprised to hear about this, and even more surprised that it happened in the younger schools. From what I have seen the people in Dexter don't get into many physical arguments or fights. In the high school I would say there are less than ten a year, and I have never seen or herd of violence in the lower levels expect smacking other people. Interesting. I think the student should be accountable for his actions by law officials, because I don't think parents would know how to handle a six grader who stabbed someone, even if it was an accident. I wouldn't be able to handle it, but if they do release him, I'm sure they will have given him a good scare.
A Dexter Person
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 5:55 p.m.
Mill Creek and Creekside have an after-school program for students who are behind in their studies. After staying "after" for an hour, these students walk over to Cornerstone to catch a 2nd run bus to go home. That's why these 2 were at Cornerstone, along with many other Mill Creek & Creekside students. Yes, the Cornerstone students were being loaded onto their buses at the time and were likely in close proximity to the incident. Also, all bus drivers and school staff members are trained in first aid and CPR, but this particular driver is also an EMT.
Indicat
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 5:17 p.m.
I'm curious why these two students were at Cornerstone (a K-2 school). Their schools would have been dismissed at 2:30-ish. Cornerstone would have just dismissed. I'm glad the bus driver was able to intervene.
Chrysta Cherrie
Thu, Mar 18, 2010 : 5:07 p.m.
The story has been updated to correct a typo.