Family identifies student stabbed at Coatesville High School; suspect not in custody

This story originally appeared on 6abc

Family members have identified the teen who was stabbed during a fight inside Coatesville Area Senior High School in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

According to the family, 16-year-old Mickey Rayner Jr. was stabbed when a fight broke out between him and another student at about 7:30 a.m. Raynor is a sophomore at the school.

Jacquelyn Prouse, Rayner’s mother, said he underwent surgery in the morning at Paoli Hospital and is currently in stable condition.

“He was stabbed in the neck, the arm, his side, his back multiple times. [It] cut every muscle and tendon in his arm all the way down to the bone,” she said. “They are still observing because it did knick his colon, so they are watching to make sure that there is not a hole.”

Police have identified the suspect. They say he is wanted for attempted murder and is not in custody.

“This is an extremely upsetting incident,” Dr. Rick Dunlap, Substitute Superintendent for Coatesville Area School District, said in a letter to families Tuesday morning. “I’m extremely sorry to report that at least one of the students was stabbed and was transported to the hospital.”

Prouse said her son has had problems with other students in the past at the school and their family is “fed up.”

“The school should have done more. I have been dealing with my son getting bullied since the beginning of the year,” Prouse said.

Rayner’s cousin, Marissa Hartman, a senior at the school, has also witnessed the violence.

“It’s been all year. There’s violence all year, fights. Kids get jumped to the point that they have to go to the hospital, kids’ heads getting stomped in. It’s not gonna change,” she said.

Caln Township police confirmed to Action News the school, which consists of grades 11 and 12, was placed on lockdown.

School officials began the process of dismissing students shortly after the incident.

“CASH is now an active crime scene and we need to allow our police departments the time and space to complete their investigation while ensuring there are no further disruptions today,” Dunlap said.

The superintendent said students would be interviewed as they were being dismissed. He said the school will follow up with counseling for students and staff.

Anyone with information about suspect’s whereabouts is asked to call police.