A 17-year-old Northwestern High School student is expected to face an attempted murder charge as an adult after police say he strangled a classmate with a charging cord and stabbed him repeatedly in the neck with a pencil during a fight on campus. Rock Hill police say the other student suffered a puncture wound in the September 28 altercation, and the teen suspect was detained at the scene.
Charging Cord, Pencil Allegedly Used as Weapons
According to WBTV, the student initially tried to strangle the other student with a charging cord before stabbing him repeatedly in the neck with a pencil, leaving him with a puncture wound, police said. Officers detained the 17-year-old at Northwestern High School, located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where the fight broke out on September 28.
While in police custody, the teen reportedly threatened the other student, said he wanted to harm himself, damaged school property, and tried to access items while sitting in a patrol car, per the same account. Police also say he was found in possession of a THC vape. He was taken to the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and issued a juvenile summons on charges of assault and battery, possession of marijuana, and malicious injury to real property under $2,000.
Charge Upgraded, Case Moving to Adult Court
Following further investigation, the assault and battery charge was upgraded to attempted murder, and police say the teen will be charged as an adult. Under South Carolina Code § 16-3-29, attempted murder is a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and state law bars probation or a suspended sentence upon conviction, according to the South Carolina Legislature.
The move to try the teen as an adult relies on South Carolina Code § 63-19-1210, which allows prosecutors to petition family court judges to transfer juveniles aged 14 and older to General Sessions Court when they face felonies carrying maximum terms of 15 years or more, including attempted murder, per the same statute.
A Campus Built for Thousands, Weapons Rules in Question
Northwestern High School serves roughly 1,780 to 1,820 students across grades 9 through 12, making it one of the largest public high schools in York County, according to Northwestern High School. The campus opened in 1971 as Rock Hill's second public high school, established to replace Emmett Scott High School following the desegregation of local public schools, per a historical account on Wikipedia. In August, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 73rd among South Carolina public high schools, the highest standing among the three traditional high schools in Rock Hill Schools District 3, according to WRHI.
State law under South Carolina Code § 16-23-430 broadly prohibits carrying any weapon on elementary or secondary school property, including knives with blades over two inches or other dangerous instruments, according to the South Carolina Legislature. But the alleged use of a charging cord and a pencil in this case underscores a gap in that framework, since typical security screening is designed to catch firearms or bladed weapons rather than everyday classroom items.
The district previously reviewed its security measures, including the feasibility of daily metal detectors, after three firearms were found at district schools within three consecutive days in August 2022, WCNC Charlotte reported at the time.
The stabbing also lands amid broader strain on the district. A demographic study presented by the Catawba Regional Council of Governments in February projected Rock Hill Schools would see a 10.1% enrollment decline over the next decade, with more than half of its facilities already more than 50 years old, as reported by Hoodline.
The Northwestern campus had already been in the news just hours before the fight. Late on September 27, a motorcyclist fleeing a York County Sheriff's deputy at speeds reaching 120 mph crashed and died on Rawlinson Road near the school, according to the Post and Courier, a case Hoodline also covered in its own report on the fatal chase.
