Philadelphia’s teachers union calls the Castor Gardens Middle School stabbing an “epic” failure

There are serious questions about how a sixth grade boy could bring a knife to Castor Gardens Middle School stabbing two employees.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is demanding a thorough investigation into how this happened and is slamming the school board for what it calls a major safety failure. Meanwhile, the union is praising the actions of a paraprofessional who ran through the hallways warning teachers not to open their doors because the student was still armed, potentially saving lives.

Police say around noon Tuesday, an 11-year-old boy pulled out the knife during math class, and when two teacher’s assistants tried to pry it free, they were stabbed.

The employees were treated for minor injuries.

The student was held until police arrived. Police said the student is not in custody and has not been charged with a disability.

The School Safety Office is investigating how the student was able to enter the school with a kitchen knife.

A district spokesperson says the school’s metal detectors somehow failed to pick up the weapon. The union says staff members reported inconsistencies in how the metal detector screening process was enforced.

Union officials say students had a lot of questions at school on Wednesday.

“They were given no warnings, they were also concerned about: would the child be back in the building? Would they be safe? So the teachers did everything they could to reassure them and let them know they were safe with them and that everything would be OK,” said LeShawna Coleman, chief of staff of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers.

Union president Arthur Steinberg said the incident “really should not have happened.”

“It’s really due to an epic administrative failure at the school level. The details I’ve received from our members are quite disturbing,” Steinberg said.

In a statement, the school district said the student went through a minimally invasive weapons detection scanner when he entered the building.

The device is set to detect firearms. Officials plan to reevaluate safety measures across the district.