CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Some parents who rushed to Manchester High School after they received news about a bloody knife attack inside the school said their children sent them gruesome details, via text, about what they witnessed.
"There's blood everywhere," one mother said about what she was told. "All the kids were saying there was blood."
One student was taken into custody and another student suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries after the attack in the school's band room.
“It’s still very early on the investigation,” Chesterfield Police Capt. Mike Louth said. “We have a lot of work left to do quite honestly.”
Students said the suspect was on a mission to find the victim, upset over a girl, and that he "went door to door trying to find this kid."
Multiple student reported that the victim previously faced a personal battle with cancer.
Parents who arrived at school to pick-up their child were re-directed to Clover Hill Assembly of God to wait further instruction. There, parents shared bits of news they learned and waited for word from their children. While students inside the school were told to turn off their phones, some students texted updates to loved ones.
One mother said she received a text from her son that said "mom." The mother said she took that as a sign that her son was okay and not involved in Monday's violent attack.
"There was an isolated incident between two students who knew each other. There was an altercation. It did involve a knife,” Chesterfield Schools spokesman Shawn Smith said.
Before Monday's violence, the school day was already emotional for some Manchester students. Some students wore camouflage to school Monday in honor of a classmate who died in a car accident three years ago.
Monday was the anniversary of Gage Edwards' death and would have been the track and field athlete's 20th birthday.
Manchester High School did not end its school day earlier and instead opted to continue despite the lock down.
The school said that there will be extra counselors on hand to speak with students.
This is a developing story.
