Police: teenager to be charged with stabbings of 3 students in Pa. school

READING, Pa. -- A 13-year-old boy will face aggravated assault and other charges after he allegedly stabbed three students and brought explosives to school, police said Thursday.

The boy is due in juvenile court for a detention hearing today, Central Berks Regional Police Sgt. Ronald Uczynski said.

The eighth-grader, whose name has not been released by authorities, is being held at the Berks County Juvenile Detention Center.

Witnesses said the boy, wearing a dark trench coat and listening to his MP3 player, burst into an English class Wednesday and began slashing at students with a knife, flipping desks, throwing books and lighting firecrackers.

Three students suffered minor stab wounds; fellow students intervened to stop the attacks before the boy was subdued by school officials at Antietam Middle-Senior High School.

Police said the boy brought to school a small can of gasoline, a water bottle filled with torch fluid, firecrackers, knives and face masks to keep out fumes.

When the school reopened Thursday, students could only use one entrance to get inside and police searched every student with a handheld metal detector.

Police Officer Ray Serafin said all bags were searched, and some pocket knives and other minor contraband were seized.

The school in Lower Alsace Township, about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, enrolls 540 students in grades seven through 12.