FORT LEE — A 16-year-old has been charged following a stabbing involving two students on Tuesday that sent Fort Lee High School into lockdown, authorities said.
The unidentified juvenile has been charged with juvenile delinquency, specifically attempted murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday night.
The suspect is being held at the Bergen County Juvenile Detention Center, awaiting a hearing in the Family Law Division of Bergen County Superior Court.
Police responded to the scene at 10:52 a.m. after an emergency radio call reporting the stabbing from an officer assigned to the high school, said Jeff Angermeyer, deputy chief of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
Responding officers discovered that a male juvenile student had been stabbed multiple times in a school bathroom during an altercation. The victim was stabbed “in the neck, abdomen, back, and arm, causing serious injuries,” the prosecutor’s office said. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he remains in critical but stable condition, the prosecutor said.
The suspect, another juvenile student, was apprehended at the scene and taken into custody.
A letter from Superintendent Robert Kravitz said the school was in lockdown to investigate “a stabbing that took place within the school building.” The letter was shared on social media by several people, including state Sen. Holly Schepisi.
Kravitz said there was no active threat to the school community.
First responders from Fort Lee and surrounding jurisdictions, along with the county Sheriff’s Office, were at the scene.
School officials did not respond to a request for additional comment. Fort Lee police deferred comment to the prosecutor’s office.
On Tuesday afternoon, police cars blocked off Lemoine Avenue in front of the high school. About 10 filled the street, with officers directing traffic and patrolling the area. A few people congregated across the street, but otherwise the scene remained quiet.
The Fort Lee Police Department said: “Out of an abundance of caution, there will be an extra police presence in and around the High School tomorrow, however there is no further threat that we are aware of at this time, and no other suspects are being sought,” in a Facebook post at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
Police at the scene of Fort Lee High School April 8, 2025.
Mel Cardinal said she first heard about the stabbing from the school and texted her daughter right away.
“When I first heard about it, my heart was pounding,” Cardinal said. “… This is so scary. And how does this happen?”
A woman named Winnie, who declined to give her last name, said her daughter attends the high school.
“I think Fort Lee is safe,” she said. “The town and the school. My daughter texted me she was OK. I was scared when my daughter texted me. I just wanted to pick her up.”
Other Fort Lee residents shared their concerns while looking on at the police presence at the high school.
“I definitely feel safe in Fort Lee, no doubt about it, but we don’t think things are headed in the right direction,” said Raul and Patricia Gutierrez, who have lived in Fort Lee for over 20 years and have a daughter who graduated from Fort Lee High School six years ago.
The couple attributes their concerns to students potentially using fake addresses so they can be placed in the high school.
The stabbing comes less than a month after a stabbing near New Milford High School.
This breaking news story has been updated throughout the day.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: 16-year-old charged after stabbing at Fort Lee High School
