Teen charged after knife fight at Regina school

The doors to a Regina school were locked for about 15 minutes this week after a fight involving two students and a knife.

The fight happened at F.W. Johnson Collegiate on Fines Drive around mid-day on Tuesday. The Regina Police Service said it involved a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old.

Terry Lazarou, spokesperson for Regina Public Schools, said the fight started in the school, but one of the teens quickly left.

“The police were informed and the police recommended that the school be put into secure the building, which was for about 15 minutes.”

Secure the Building mode involves locking the outside doors to the school, but business continues as usual inside.

Police said they got called to the school around 1:50 p.m., but the incident was over by the time officers arrived. At about the same time officers arrived, another call was placed to 911, about a teen who was hurt. Officers figured out it was the 16-year-old who was involved in the fight.

Officers went to a nearby home and found the teen — police said he had ended up stabbing himself in the hand. He was treated for his injury and arrested.

The 17-year-old who was also involved in the fight had some minor injuries but didn’t need to go to the hospital.

There was no information released to the public or information sent home to parents about the incident.

The 16-year-old is facing an assault with a weapon charge.

Regina police said the Secure the Building mode only lasted about 15 minutes because they found the teen quickly. Because it was so brief, police spokesperson Elizabeth Popowich said it didn’t affect people outside of the building and so police didn’t inform the public.

Lazarou’s explanation was similar. He said even if there’s a Secure the Building mode, if there’s no actual threat to the students, they don’t normally let the public know.

Lazarou said he wasn’t trying to minimize the situation.

“It happened so quickly and it was dealt with by police so quickly that it wasn’t something the entire community needed to know about.”

Parents weren’t informed either, and Lazarou said that’s because it wasn’t something that involved the student body.