THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 27, 1995 TAG: 9510270505
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
A 16-year-old Bayside High School student was stabbed Thursday after a neighborhood dispute erupted in front of the school building, police said.
Police said the student then fell, or was pushed, into the path of a moving school bus sometime during the brief fight before classes began.
The student, 9th-grader Michael A. Anderson, was taken into surgery at Virginia Beach General Hospital shortly after the early-morning fight, police spokesman Lou Thurston said. Anderson is expected to recover from a stomach wound and was listed in stable condition. Anderson also suffered minor cuts and abrasions when he was hit by the bus, Thurston said.
``It's a shame we can't attend school anymore without worrying about our lives,'' said 17-year-old senior Jen Walter. ``School is a place of learning, not a battleground.''
Police said the attack happened around 7:20 a.m. as school buses were unloading in front of the building on Haygood Road. Anderson, of the 5500 block of Maple Cluster Court, was attacked by at least one student, Thurston said. Police have received reports that as many as four others were also involved in the assault, Thurston said.
Shortly after the attack, police questioned and arrested a 16-year-old 11th grader and charged him with malicious assault. The suspect, whose name wasn't released, was taken to the Tidewater Detention Home. Thurston said investigators are still determining what roles, if any, the other students played in the attack.
Police confiscated a hunting knife found in a boys restroom, but Thurston said investigators aren't certain if it is the weapon used in the assault.
The police spokesman said the fight may have resulted from tensions between school-age residents of the Weblin Place and Lake Edward neighborhoods, although the victim's home is in Charter Lakes. The victim may have been involved in a recent fight between the neighborhood groups, Thurston said.
``The disputes from the neighborhoods shouldn't be brought to the school,'' said Abigaille Laxa, 17, president of the Bayside High student council. ``Bayside administrators shouldn't have to be involved in these neighborhood disputes.''
Joe Lowenthal, spokesman for the school system, said administrative punishment will be up to Bayside's principal, but he added that ``it is pretty safe to say those involved won't be in school here for a length of time.''
School officials have decided to move the start of Friday's home football game against Tallwood High School from 7:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. as a precaution.
There have been relatively few serious crimes at Bayside High School in the past few years. Last year, police found a stolen .44-caliber revolver in a locker there. And in late September 1992, four teachers were hurt trying to quell a brawl between students. A dozen students were charged in that fight.
``Something like this just harms Bayside's reputation,'' said junior Nathan Sanford. ``Other schools have violence, too. It's not fair that Bayside's reputation is so bad. Actions like these just strengthen the bad reputation.'' MEMO: High school correspondent Sareit Hess contributed to this story.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT STABBING INJURIES ARREST by CNB