Outraged NJ High School Students Stage Walkout Over Stabbing of 11-Year-Old

Hundreds of students at a New Jersey high school walked out in unison Monday morning to call attention to violence in the community days after an 11-year-old boy walking home was stabbed by a fellow student.

The students’ call to action comes in the wake of last Wednesday’s bloodshed when another 11-year-old student used a kitchen knife to stab Smailyn Jimenez in the stomach on his typical walk home from school. The suspect in the case attends the same school as Jimenez, Samuel E. Shull Middle School in Perth Amboy.

Police arrested the boy believed to be responsible for the attack, charging him with an act of juvenile delinquency for offenses equal to attempted murder and aggravated assault if they were committed by an adult.

The safety concerns don’t stop at the high school. Perth Amboy parents will hold a rally Monday evening, urging the district to crack down on bullying and calling for the district superintendent to resign.

The city and the district released a joint statement saying in part, “We have to work together to provide a set of interventions and solutions that will work for our students…..including mental health services, counseling, and peer-to-peer interventions.”

The victim took a knife to the stomach outside a school in Perth Amboy. He is expected to recover. NBC New York’s Melissa Colorado reports.

A good Samaritan happened to catch sight of the 11-year-old victim last week and rushed to his aid.

Zenovia Cruz was driving to the school to pick up her niece when she spotted the boy crying out for help. That’s when Smailyn lifted his shirt to show her his stab wounds.

“I saw he was screaming, with blood on his hands,” said Cruz. “I brought him into the car…I saw an ambulance, ran out the car, flagging them down…I’m completely heartbroken, I haven’t slept knowing if he’s OK or not.”

Had it not been for Cruz’s quick thinking, Smailyn stood no chance of surviving, said his father, Juan Jimenez.