Six Utah high school students stabbed, including teen suspect

By Laila Kearney

(Reuters) - Five students were stabbed inside a Utah high school boys' locker room on Tuesday before the 16-year-old male suspect turned the weapon on himself, school officials said.

The incident at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, occurred just before 8 a.m. MT (10 a.m. ET) as the students were getting ready for a physical education class. It prompted a brief lockdown of the school, the Alpine School District said in a statement.

The stabbing suspect was subdued by a stun gun and apprehended by a school resource officer. He and the victims were transported to local hospitals, the district said.

The victims suffered wounds to their necks and upper torsos, Orem police chief Gary Giles told a news conference. The weapon was a knife with a 3-inch blade and the condition of the victims ranged from fair to critical, he added.

Giles said police had yet to determine a motive and said they would not release the names of the students involved because they are juveniles.

The suspect was described as a sophomore who had joined the school only this year after previously being home schooled. He was a straight-A student who had no prior disciplinary issues, the district's Kimberly Bird said.

Students will be released to their parents later in the day, police said.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney and Rory Carroll; Editing by Alan Crosby and Dan Grebler)

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