Perth Amboy after school stabbing leaves 11-year-old hurt, child in custody

♦️ An 11-year-old boy was badly hurt after an after-school stabbing in Perth Amboy

♦️ A sixth grader was taken into custody Wednesday night and charged as a juvenile

♦️ The president of the local teacher’s union said safety conditions have been terrible

PERTH AMBOY — A fight between two 11-year-old students ended with one boy stabbed and badly hurt and the other in police custody, according to the Perth Amboy Mayor’s Office.

A fifth grader was stabbed with a kitchen knife by a sixth grader on Wednesday after 2:30 p.m., shortly after dismissal on their way home from school, the statement continued.

The incident happened a few blocks from Samuel E. Shull Middle School, as confirmed by authorities.

Perth Amboy Police Special Victims Bureau investigated and the slightly older student was taken into custody that night.

The defendant has been charged with juvenile delinquency for crimes that, if committed by an adult, would be attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses, as first reported by Daily Voice and confirmed by the office of Perth Amboy Mayor Helmin Caba.

♦️ Local teachers union president says “student behavior is out of control”

“We were afraid that something terrible was going to happen,” the president of the local teacher’s union, Perth Amboy Federation, said in a response to New Jersey 101.5, calling conditions in the district “terrible.”

“Shull Middle School is particularly unsafe for students and staff. We have been trying to get the Superintendent and the Board to address these issues, but they pretend that everything is fine,” Patricia Paradiso said.

She continued that at a recent meeting with school staff, they were told that “many students bring knives to school.”

If another student reports seeing a student with a knife, the weapon gets confiscated and the student gets suspended, Paradiso said.

“Backpacks are not checked, we have no metal detectors, and the student behavior is out of control,” she added.

Stabbing between Perth Amboy middle schoolers appeared to be “isolated incident”

As of Thursday, the child accused in the attack was being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center.

The incident, which happened on Johnstone Street between Sutton Street and Ridgeley Street, appeared to be isolated, the mayor’s office added.

Anyone with video footage or information to help in the ongoing investigation was asked to contact Perth Amboy Detective Omar Rivera at 732-324-3868.

Erin Vogt is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach her at erin.vogt@townsquaremedia.com

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