OREM — Mountain View High School Principal Taran Chun believes divine providence may have helped at least one student survive a brutal stabbing spree at the school after he was severely injured.
In a letter written earlier this week to the "Mountain View High School community," Chun detailed the student's account of the Nov. 15 attack inside a boys' locker room, in which he said he felt somehow guided to where he received help from the principal and another administrator.
Chun, who visited with the five victims in their homes after they were released from the hospital, credits angels with assisting that chaotic morning. He also said the students are not angry with the boy who attacked them and have forgiven him.
A 16-year-old is charged in juvenile court with five counts of attempted murder for allegedly stabbing five classmates and then stabbing himself in the neck. Charging documents say he planned the rampage, intent on killing people, "and wanted to feel what that was like prior to dying himself."
Chun said one boy — the most severely injured victim who suffered paralysis to his right arm that could last up to three years — played dead during the attack. After the attacker moved on, he began calling for help.
"Soon after (he was stabbed), two individuals emerged and began to walk by him," Chun wrote. "He was surprised that they did not stop to try to help him. Something impressed him that he should follow these individuals and so despite his injuries, he somehow got up and began to follow them."
The principal said the boy was then given directions by the people he was following.
"The individuals stopped and turned to him. One of them said to him, 'Go to the administration,'" Chun wrote. "This young man said to me that he thought, 'How can I get to the administration? … Almost in response to his thoughts, the individual then said, 'Go to the bathroom.' Once again, this student said he thought, 'I can't go to the bathroom, that is where the danger is.'"
But the boy started toward the nearest bathroom, and that's when he saw Chun and another administrator, according to the principal.
"He did not (previously) know that we were there, and we were not aware that he was there either," the principal wrote. "Being so engaged with the perpetrator, I was not aware of anyone else in the locker room. I did not notice this student until I saw from my peripheral vision a light appear. I turned to see this student standing there as if standing under a light."
Chun also indicated that the boy had "both hands held over the wounds of both sides of his neck."
"That is an important detail because he soon learned that he could not use his right arm," the letter states. "His injury severed the nerves that allow him to use his arm. How he got up from the floor, and how he got both hands raised to his wounds to slow the bleeding is a miracle in itself."
Chun said he believes the student was guided by angels — whether they were fellow students or otherwise.
"For those of us who are familiar with this student's story, we credit angels, whether in the form of students we have not yet identified, or angels sent from heaven, for inspiring this student to get up from the floor, who prevented this student from leaving through an exit which would cut him off from all help, and who pointed him in the direction he should go to receive immediate help," he wrote.
In charges filed Tuesday, prosecutors said the most severely injured victim was stabbed in "his esophagus (which) cut a central nerve (and) has resulted in disabled elbow and shoulder movement."
Orem police say there were no prior indications of the arrested student being troubled or experiencing bullying at the school. He "made it very clear that he did not target anyone for any reason, and merely went after who was available with the goal of creating as many victims as possible," the charges state.
The Utah County Attorney's Office told the Deseret News Wednesday that no decision has been made about whether they will attempt to certify the 16-year-old as an adult. The Deseret News has opted not to name the boy at this time.
A judge ruled Wednesday that the teen would continue to be held in a juvenile detention facility until his next hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
Chun declined an interview Wednesday to further discuss his experiences. In the wake of the trauma, Chun in his letter said he was full of praise for the victims, who he said placed no blame on the family of the alleged attacker and were hopeful about moving on with their lives.
One victim's parents told Chun: "If we could hug the parents of the young man who did this to our son, we would hug them in an instant." That victim, who was less seriously injured, returned to school last week.
"(Another) young man said something to me that mirrors what the other students who were injured said," Chun wrote. "He said to me, 'Dr. Chun, I'm not mad at this young man. Obviously, something is wrong with him, and he just needs help. Please let him know that I'm not mad at him.'"
Another student told him, “I want you to know that I am not angry at this young man. … No, I am angry at the illness that has caused him to act this way, but I am not angry at him! I hope and pray that he recovers as well, and that he gets the help that he needs.”
Chun said one victim's bravery, when he tried to stop the attacker from further harming the most seriously injured boy, likely saved that student's life. That victim told the principal, to his surprise, that he was glad he had been stabbed.
"That statement shocked me, and I said, 'Why would you be glad for getting stabbed?' He replied, 'Well, when I saw that boy lying on the ground in his blood, I wanted to help him. But that was when the boy came at me and stabbed me. I grabbed the blade and removed it from my neck, slicing my fingers in the process. … When I fell to the ground, I saw the perpetrator leave the both of us and walk away. If me providing a target for the boy on the ground helped to save his life, then I am glad that I was stabbed.'"
Chun praised each of the boys for their calmness during the emergency, their quick thinking to go get help and their respective positive outlooks. Three of them hope to return to school after the Thanksgiving break, he said.
"They have an entire Bruin Nation that will be ready to receive them with open arms and open hearts," Chun wrote in his letter.
The principal said he is encouraged by the compassionate reaction by students and staff.
"I feel a greater sense of community, I feel a greater sense of unity, and I feel a greater sense of love and concern for others as a result of this recent tragedy," he wrote.
"Somehow, the darkness of this event is creating tremendous light in our community."