Mother of Student Stabbed in Gym Class Sues School

Ashley Wilson, the mother of a middle-school student who was stabbed 14 times during a gym class at Ola Middle School in McDonough, Ga., last spring is now suing the school, arguing they did not take action against the suspect despite knowing that the then-eighth-grader had a knife and intended to use it. 

"The attack resulted in 14 stab wounds and lacerations across Ashley's daughter's body — everything from her face to her neck to her back to her breasts. And she is, to this day, still recovering both physically and emotionally," attorney Adam Princenthal, founding member of the Princenthal, May & Wilson law firm in Sandy Springs, Georgia, told Fox News Digital.

Wilsons daughter, who wasn't named, has "scars everywhere," including on her face, according to Fox. 

The lawsuit alleges that school administrators did nothing after being notified by the school resource officer on March 14 that the female suspect had a knife in her possession on school grounds and had made threats against the victim's friend. 

Despite receiving the SRO's report, administrators did not investigate the student nor take action as required under school policies, according to the complaint.

The suspect attacked Wilson's daughter in Ola Middle School gym despite the face that she was not the focus of the suspect's threats made against another student the day prior. 

The suspect approached Wilson's daughter on her way to gym class and began to harass her. The victim apparently tried to walk away and asked the suspect to leave her alone "several times," according to the lawsuit. 

"[T]eachers who witnessed the harassment did not [defuse] the situation," the complaint states. "The teachers who witnessed the bullying failed to keep [the victim] safe while on school property."

When the victim entered the gym, the suspect followed and began stabbing her. 

"Of course, the administrators knew the knife was on campus and did nothing. And then the knife was brought back on the 15th to be used against [the victim's] friend. And again, the administrators knew about it, did nothing," attorney Andrew Gould said.

The suspect was arrested but no other information on the case was available. 

Princenthal said their civil case is based on "the fact that there were written policies in place that govern how the administrators and the other employees of the Henry County school system should act when receiving certain types of information" and that school administrators "failed to do that here."

"It's not a choice," Gould said. "It's required that the administrators conduct an investigation. And it's required that a student who brings a dangerous weapon onto campus be expelled. These things were not done, so even the most basic initial step — an investigation — would have prevented [the attack] from occurring."

In response to the notice, an insurance claims examiner for Henry County Schools wrote that neither "the County or any County employees are legally responsible" for the $3 million in damages Wilson is requesting through her lawsuit. The examiner further denied liability in the case on behalf of the school district.