By: Max Bruns ~Advertising Manager~

Five students at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah became the victims of a stabbing spree by a fellow student on the morning of Nov. 15. The suspect was a straight- A student and new to the high school.

According to a US News article the suspect used a three-inch blade to attack five male victims in a locker room at 8 a.m. before physical education class.

The suspect also stabbed himself in the neck before a school recourse officer managed to subdue him with a stun gun, according to Reuters.

The suspect and the five victims were treated at a local hospital. Each victim received at least one wound as a result of the stabbing.

Orem Police Chief Gary Giles was reported saying that no motive had been established and that the suspect had been taken into custody.

Chief Giles was quoted by Utah Valley 360 about the swift response of the school staffers.

“He did have a knife, so those staff members did place themselves in harm’s way to keep that suspect from coming back out at the students,” Giles said.

The FBI crime trends and statistics tables for 2015 reported 127,189 individual cases of aggravated assault with a knife. This is a 0.6 percent increase from 2014. However, crime in other capacities has been trending down.

According to Associated Press, the suspect is a 16-year-old sophomore and was homeschooled until he joined the high school this year. The student did not have a conduct record prior to this incident.

Reuters reported that wounds suffered by the victims ranged from minor to critical, appearing primarily on the neck and upper torso.

Response to this particular case was swift, according to Reuters, prompting a lockdown of the school for about one hour after the incident. Students were either released to parents or were allowed to remain at school for the rest of the day.

“We also know that the school is a safe place for kids to be and that we have resources there for kids to use and utilize. Sometimes when they push kids home, we don’t know what’s home and available as a resource to them,” Kimberly Bird, Alpine.