Another High School Murder

School violence hits somewhere in an affluent Boston suburb.

SUDBURY, Mass. -- A 16-year-old student was charged with murder in the Friday morning stabbing of a classmate at a high school in an affluent Boston suburb.

The 15-year-old victim was stabbed in a hallway after a fight broke out between him and another male student in a school bathroom before classes began, District Attorney Gerard Leone said.

Leone called the fight an "isolated incident" between the two students. "There is no thought or belief that anyone else is in danger," he said.

The name of the student charged was not immediately released.

The victim, a freshman, was brought to Emerson Hospital in Concord from the high school in Sudbury and pronounced dead at 8:12 a.m., said Bonnie Goldsmith, a hospital spokeswoman.

State and local police were sent to the school.

Fred Smerlas, whose daughter attends the school, said parents were told that two students were involved in an incident.

Mary Clemens, a 17-year-old senior, said that when she arrived at the campus, students had gathered in the cafeteria.

"We were told by an administrator that someone was stabbed and it was bad, that that person was taken to the hospital and someone else had been taken to the police," Clemens said.

...The school, which has about 1,600 students, is 17 miles west of Boston.

This is the original AP article on the incident.

Something is missing.

There are plenty of details:

A freshman was stabbed to death by another student.

The victim was taken to Emerson Hospital in Concord.

According to hospital spokeswoman Bonnie, the fifteen-year-old was pronounced dead at 8:12 a.m.

The school is in an affluent Boston suburb.

The school has 1,600 students.

It's 17 miles west of Boston.

There are quotes from the District Attorney, a parent, and a student.

Pretty many details, right?

WHAT'S THE NAME OF THE SCHOOL?

Why didn't the reporter name the school?

Very strange.

Eventually, I'm sure we'll learn; but I don't understand why such an important fact was omitted.

It's also worth noting that stronger gun laws wouldn't have prevented this murder.
______________________________

The stabbing took place at Lincoln-Sudbury High School.

From The Boston Herald:

One student is dead and another was arraigned today on a murder charge following a bloody battle in a Lincoln-Sudbury High School bathroom this morning.

John Odgren, 16, was charged in Framingham District Court as an adult for the murder of fellow student James Alenson, 15, a freshman at the high school. Alenson died from two stab wounds, including one to the heart.

Framingham District Court Judge Paul Healy ordered Odgren held without bail.

Prosecuter Daniel Bennett said Odgren admitted to school officials he killed Alenson.

“He was in the principal’s office and he said, ‘I did it, I did it,’” Bennett said.

A police report said that after the stabbing, Odgren also said: “Is he OK? I don’t want him to die.”

Odgren’s lawyer, Jonathan Shapiro, said after the arraignment that, “it is a tragedy for all involved.”

He also said his client has Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, and is a special education student at the school and had no history of violence.

“The defendant has a history of fairly serious psychological diagnoses and has also suffered from hyperactivity dysfunction for many years,” Shapiro said. “What is clear is John has a serious disability.”

Needless to say, the community has been left reeling by the murder, and understandably so.

I thought this was an odd comment:

Robert Sackstein, Boston doctor, and father of twin boys said, “personally I think today is like 9/11 for us...Any place in the country is at risk.”

9/11?

As horrifying as the murder is, it's not like 9/11.

I'm sure it's a tremendous shock that there was a fatal stabbing at the school.

It's a nightmare for the families of those involved, but it shouldn't be equated with 9/11.