MANCHESTER, Jamaica – Principal of Holmwood Technical High School Paul Bailey said that a special devotion was held at the school this morning, which included officers attached to the Christiana Police Station, as the school body met for the first time following the stabbing death of a student on the weekend.

Sixteen-year-old grade nine student Stephan Hanson was allegedly stabbed in the town of Mandeville on Friday, by an 18-year-old grade 11 schoolmate.

He died at the Mandeville Regional Hospital Saturday morning.

Bailey said that he had dialogue with the parents of both students on the weekend, and today the dean of discipline and guidance counsellor from Holmwood will be visiting their homes in Mandeville and Lincoln in the parish, respectively.

Tomorrow morning, he said, there will be grief counselling for the grade nine students.

The principal said that a reminder that he imparted in the devotion was that one of the amicable ways for students to resolve differences is to report the matter to an authority figure.

“When there is a fight, nobody wins,” he said.

Bailey told OBSERVER ONLINE that he would also encourage students to get home on time when school ends, as at 6:00 pm when the incident is reported to have happened, the students should have already been at home.

The Manchester police say that the student accused of committing the crime is to be charged this week.

Alicia Sutherland