Authorities are investigating a 14-year-old girl's actions before they say she attacked two students with a hammer at Colorado's Columbine High School.
Investigators Monday were trying to gather additional details, including where the girl got the hammer, said John McDonald, Jefferson County School District's executive director of security and emergency management.
It was unclear what sparked the attack Monday morning at the school.
The 14-year-old targeted a 15-year-old girl in a hallway leading to bathrooms, Jefferson County Sheriff's spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said.
A 16-year-old boy, Aaron Flowers, saw the attack developing and was injured while stopping it.
He and the girl were expected to recover fully from their injuries, described by Kelley as hand injuries.
They were taken to a hospital and later released.
"This girl came down the hallway and started swinging at my friend, and pulled out a hammer and started swinging," Flowers said. "She hit her I guess in the head and it got her on the hand, and it broke her hand. My friend ran up and pushed her down and that's when I went in for the hammer and she broke, her arm broke loose, and she hit me in my hand and she hit me in my ribs. Then I had got the hammer from her and that's when she got contained by the cops because the cops were right down the hall."
Flowers says he needs surgery on his hand and his friend could have been injured worse had he not stepped in.
"If she would have connected it would have been game over, because she was swinging full time," Flowers said
This isn't the first altercation between the girls, Flowers says.
"They've had problems before, I just don't know why she decided to do something like that today," Flowers said.
Flowers' sister was upset that the girl was able to get a hold of a hammer.
"Hopefully nothing like this ever happens again, it's just terrible," Danyale Martinez, Flowers' sister, said.
"She's a very brave girl," McDonald said of the intended target.
Kelley declined to release additional information, saying the attack remained under investigation.
"Nothing is more important to us than the safety of our students and staff. Our thoughts are with the students who were injured and we're hoping for their quick recovery. Whenever there is an incident at a school that results in injuries, we conduct our own investigation to make sure we're doing everything we can to keep our students safe," Jeffco Public Schools Superintendent Cindy Stevenson said in a statement.
Several students praised the school staff and local law enforcement for how well they handled the incident.
The 14-year-old suspect is facing a first-degree assault charge and was booked into a juvenile jail.
Her name isn't being released because she's a minor.
TXT 24
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