Two students stabbed at Pella Middle School, 14-year-old detained

Police in Pella are investigating a stabbing in the middle school cafeteria before the start of the day.

A 14-year-old was detained for allegedly stabbing two female students with a knife, according to Capt. Paul Haase with the Pella Police Department. The students suffered minor injuries and were not taken to the hospital, Haase said.

A handful of students were in the cafeteria before school started when an altercation apparently broke out, Superintendent Greg Ebeling said at a news conference. He described the weapon as a kitchen knife that officials believe the student brought from home.

Ebeling said the girls wrestling coach was able to convince the student to leave the school and praised her for quickly diffusing the situation.

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Police Chief Shane McSheehy said they're investigating what led to the altercation and plan to request warrants to find out more information about the student's hours or days leading up to the assault. The student was charged in February with assault causing bodily injury for allegedly assaulting a school counselor, McSheehy said.

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The incident happened at about 7:40 a.m. Wednesday at Pella Middle School, 613 E. 13th St., which has 7th and 8th grades. School wasn't canceled but a majority of parents kept their students home for the day, Ebeling said.

A notification was sent out “pretty much immediately” after the incident to parents, he said. There were several other reports that were sent out shortly after.

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The school does not have metal detectors but an incident like this makes officials reconsider school safety, Ebeling said.

Some students ran across the street to Third Church, 708 E. 13th St., when the altercation happened because class rooms weren't open yet, Ebeling said.

Church staff gathered outside of the middle school on Wednesday afternoon to pray over the school.

"We got a group of our staff to pray outside the school for the safety of the kids," lead pastor Darin Wogen said. "We've opened up the church for families and kids throughout the day and evening if they need somebody to talk to or listen."

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They prayed that students could be rid of anxiety, fear or any negative feelings they're experiencing after the incident, Wogen said.

"It's unfortunate," Wogen said. "I think we always see that in the news and you never think it'll happen here; we didn't think we'd be here today outside the school. But we're sending our thoughts and prayers to all that were involved. It's definitely something that we thought wouldn't happen here in Pella."

Pella is about 50 miles southeast of Des Moines in Marion County.

This story was updated to add new information and a video.

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José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Pella Middle School students injured in stabbing, 14-year-old detained

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