The teenager killed in a brutal stabbing caught on camera in a North Carolina school gymnasium has been identified by loved ones as a sports-loving high school student — while relatives of the alleged perpetrator insist he acted in self-defense and was bullied.
Devlin J. Ferrell, 15, died from stab wounds suffered in a violent fight Monday morning that spilled into the Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School gymnasium, his family confirmed to WRAL News.
Ferrell and a second unnamed victim, 16, were beaten with a sharp object by a classmate, footage of the incident shows.
“We are a grieving family and trying to process this. It’s a tragedy all around. We are a forgiving family and hold no ill will,” the Ferrell family said in a statement to WRAL.
The high school freshman enjoys sports and video games, they added.
Friends and family will remember the teenager at a balloon release near Raleigh at 5 p.m. local time Wednesday, WNCN reported.
Devlin J. Ferrell, 15, was fatally stabbed Monday in the Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School gymnasium.
The main suspect in Ferrell’s death is 14-year-old Tyquan General Jr., the suspect’s family told WRAL.
The teenager has been charged with murder under a juvenile petition — and will likely be tried as an adult under North Carolina law, the outlet explained.
Relatives of the General, however, insisted that he was only defending himself after a long struggle with bullying.
“I informed the school in advance that something might happen. I informed them that morning. I told them something might happen, the boy might threaten to jump him,” General’s mother, Cherelle McLaughlin, told WRAL about the tragedy.
A fierce fight broke out in a high school hallway on Monday morning.
Before the incident, General was afraid to go to school, McLaughlin claimed.
“They didn’t get to him fast enough,” he lamented, referring to school officials.
McLaughlin also does not believe his son brought the murder weapon to school himself.
“I can’t believe he brought that knife to school. I believe he got the knife from someone at school because he didn’t go to school with a knife. I sent him to school, he didn’t go to school with me,” he told WRAL.
McLaughlin said the school had failed both the victim and her son.
The violence spilled into the gymnasium, where two students were stabbed.
“I feel terrible. The whole situation is terrible. I feel bad for the rest of the family, but in return, I feel bad for my son because he is fighting for his life. I don’t think it should have happened like that,” he stressed.
A fight broke out after a student wearing a dark jacket was seen throwing a punch at a student wearing a red jacket – although it was unclear who this student was.
The Wake County Public School System did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment on McLaughlin’s allegations.
Other parents, however, were quick to voice McLaughlin’s concerns about the school staff’s failure to prevent violence before it happened.
“With all the situations that have happened at Southeast Raleigh High School, I’m going to pull my daughter out of school,” one parent, who declined to be named, told WRAL.
Devlin J. Ferrell’s family said he loved sports and video games.
“Even from the video alone, it looks like it’s taking a long time for administrators, teachers, adults to get there,” they added.
“I don’t feel safe sending my child to school. No parent should have to send their child off to school and wonder if they will ever come back alive.”
Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School has higher rates of criminal activity and arrests than any other Wake County public school, the outlet said.
During the 2022-2023 school year, for example, Southeast Raleigh Magnet had 30.84 crimes per 1,000 students — compared to a rate of just 9.45 in Wake County overall and 8.77 in North Carolina.
Parents at the school have now expressed concern for the safety of their own children.
On Wednesday, Raleigh also hosted a national conference on active threats in schools organized by the School Safety Advocacy Council, WRAL added.
“Schools need to understand that any kind of tragedy can strike every day. Everyone is focused on not wanting to be a Parkland or Uvalde school district with mass casualty numbers,” executive director Curt Lavarello told the outlet.
“The easiest way [to prevent school violence] is to know your children,” he continued.
“Talk to your kids because in most of the school shootings and serious incidents that we’ve had in this country, a child has talked about it before it happened, and there’s a real possibility of reducing it in the future.”
Southeast Raleigh Magnet was closed Tuesday and Wednesday following Ferrell’s death. It was unclear whether the school would reopen on Thursday.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
