Schools superintendent says stabbing was ‘random act’

Nov 2, 2016 | 10:27 AM

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — The superintendent of schools in Abbotsford, B.C., says evidence suggests the man alleged to have killed one female student and injured another didn’t know his victims.

Kevin Godden says investigators believe the attack was a “random act of violence.”

“What I can tell you is that he is not a student of this school now.”

Every school in the district will have all but one of its exterior doors locked during the school day out of an abundance of caution, Godden told reporter Wednesday.

He said the Abbotsford Police Department has closed the high school where the two young women were stabbed to maintain the integrity of the investigation and a decision would be made later on Wednesday about when the school would reopen.

The student was killed Tuesday afternoon and another is listed in stable condition after police say a barefoot man walked into Abbotsford Senior Secondary early Tuesday afternoon and stabbed two girls before being held by staff.

There is a video circulating of the stabbing and Godden asked those sharing it to please stop.

“This video is a trigger to trauma, not only for our students and our community but for any person that has been involved in a  traumatic incident.”

Police said Tuesday that they had a young man in custody. They said it appeared he was not a student at the school and it’s not clear if he even knew the two girls.

“Who he is, what was driving him, is very much a matter for investigators at this time,” Abbotsford police Chief Bob Rich said.

The suspect’s name has not been released and there is no word on any charges. The girls’ names have also not been released.

Police also asked that the video not be shared further.

Filmed from what appears to be the second floor looking into the school’s atrium, it shows a man in a grey T-shirt standing over a girl and frantically stabbing at her as she screams on the floor. A person in an apron then approaches the man, who suddenly drops his weapon and backs away from the woman.