Students, staff hailed heroes for intervening during stabbing at Pickering high school

Teens intervened during Pickering school stabbing A group of teens are being hailed heroes for intervening when they saw a student attack and stab a girl at their Pickering high school.

Students and staff of a Pickering high school are being hailed as heroes following a stabbing that left three people injured.

Police were called to Pine Ridge Secondary School just after 1 p.m. Wednesday. They found a 16-year-old girl stabbed, the vice principal stabbed and a 16-year-old boy with more minor injuries.

Students speaking out today called the actions of Grade 12 basketball player Darnelle Peddie "heroic," saying the injuries to the 16-year-old boy — a friend and basketball teammate — may have been much more serious had Peddie not stepped in.

Peddie said Thursday he was on his way to the washroom when he came upon the girl who had been stabbed, the girl with the knife and the victim's boyfriend.

"I see my friend outside arguing with a girl so I was pulling him away," Peddie said. "She kept going closer to my friend so I was pulling my friend away so he wouldn't get stabbed."

Meanwhile, Peddie said, the school's vice principal pulled at the girl with the knife. The vice principal was later treated in hospital.

"It's very heroic. I'm very happy he (Peddie) had the courage to step in and I thank him for it," said Peddie's basketball teammate Miles Hall.

According to Peddie, another one of his teammates was also there, trying to calm the situation down with his words.

"They both took action in the proper time and they helped possibly save someone's life," said teammate Matteus Case.

This isn't the first time the school's basketball team has had to grapple with violence.

In February 2017, former teammate Darius Thorne, 18, was shot to death in an Oshawa apartment building.

For some, Thursday's stabbing brought Thorne's homicide back into focus.

"You're like, what if something like that was going to happen again, what if our friend was giong to pass away?" said Case.

"Everybody feels like they need to have some type of weapon to keep themselves protected," said Hall. "I never carried any type of weapon. I feel if anything happens, I have to figure out a way to work with the situation and just back away, really."

"Stabbing someone isn't giong to make the situation better. It's just going to make it worse. Get you in more trouble. Get everyone in trouble," said Case. "I just hope we get it sorted out...Get away from all this violence."

As of Thursday afternoon, no charges had been laid.

"I know investigators are still trying to piece together exactly what transpired at Pine Ridge Secondary School," Durham Regional Police Const. George Tudos said. "It's unfortunate that we have to be speaking to a stabbing that's taken place at one of our schools within Durham Region."

Tudos cautioned that intervening in a violent situation may not always be the best idea.

"You never know what kind of a situation it is and you want to make sure that your safety comes first as well," he said.