Stabbing at Hamilton High School

More violence at Milwaukee Public Schools...

This time it was a stabbing at Hamilton High School.

This comes a week after 15-year-old Liliana Razo was stabbed with a screwdriver in an after school fight at Milwaukee's South Division High School. She died.

Today's stabbing victim will survive her injuries.

In a bizarre twist, a new metal detector was used for the first time at Hamilton today.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A new $50,000 high quality, airport-sensitive metal detector made its debut at Hamilton High School this morning but it was used only on students tardy to class while school officials learned to use the new equipment.

A 16-year-old girl brought a knife into the school this morning and later stabbed a fellow student multiple times inside a bathroom this morning at the school, 6215 W. Warnimont Ave.

School officials did not have information on the girls' arrival at school today or whether they might have been scanned by the new device.

The victim, 15, was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect and another 16-year-old girl were taken into police custody in connection with today's stabbing at the school, which enrolls about 2,200 students.

Milwaukee police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said officers recovered the weapon believed to be used in the stabbing. The girl believed to be responsible for the stabbing is known to Milwaukee police, Schwartz noted. Police were still sorting out what role the second female suspect may have played in the case.

Schwartz said an ongoing feud between the victim and the suspects preceded the stabbing, which forced an immediate lockdown of the school today.

The lockdown was lifted at Hamilton about 10:30 a.m., according to MPS spokesperson Roseann St. Aubin, noting that a couple of parents picked up their children from school.

"We are really discouraging any early dismissal or pickup," she said. "The kids are fine. After the lockdown was lifted, we were where we needed to be. We went to a normal schedule."

They're discouraging any early dismissal or pickup? It sounds like this is business as usual. As long as there was no murder, everything's cool. This "no big deal" attitude is troubling.

"The kids are fine." Don't worry about it.

Imagine being the parent of a child at Hamilton. You learn that a girl was stabbed multiple times in a bathroom at the school.

I not only would pick up my child immediately. My child would NEVER return.

...Four of the new archway-style scanners have been purchased using MPS board funds, according to St. Aubin. Two are to be put in place at Hamilton and two will be put in place at Custer High School. The intention is that they will be used daily, just at belt scanners are already used at Vincent High School, she said.

"There are 2,200 students there (at Hamilton). It does take a little bit of time. Students should know that can happen at any time," she said.

She said she anticipates that parents will have questions on the future use of the scanners in light of today's stabbing.

"When there is an incident it's a chance for us to review the system and see whether anything has to be changed," she said. "The school safety aides assigned to that school and the supervisor speaking with the school will go over the incident as part of a normal review and see if they have to tweak anything."

That's looking on the bright side. This stabbing is really just an opportunity. It will allow the school to determine if they should "tweak anything."

Perhaps Charlene Hardin can help tweak things, given her recent trip to Philadelphia for that school safety conference.

TWEAK?

This is a crisis. "Tweaking" won't cut it.

Milwaukee taxpayers should be horrified that they're pouring so much of their hard-earned money into MPS with such dismal results.

More money is not the answer.