Harding HS Stabbing Victim ID'd; Suspect Charged with Murder
Devin Scott, 15, who was fatally stabbed at Harding High School on Friday. Photo from Family GoFundMe
The 15-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed at Harding High School in Saint Paul on Friday has been identified and a 16-year-old student is now charged with 2nd-degree murder.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office filed the juvenile petition on Tuesday, outlining more details about the fatal incident.
According to the petition, police were called at 11:46 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 10 to Harding High School for a report of an assault of a student. Police arrived and found the victim, identified by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner as 15-year-old Devin Scott, with stab wounds in the hallway.
Lifesaving measures were being performed by school staff. Once paramedics arrived, they transported Scott to Regions Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators with the Saint Paul Police Department interviewed the assistant principal who said he was walking the hallways between class times when he saw Scott and another student arguing with a third student. He then saw the students drop their bags and begin fighting, the documents allege.
The principal identified the three individuals involved in the fight as Scott, another student only identified by initials, and the suspect, 16-year-old Nosakhere Kazeem Holmes.
The assistant principal told investigators that Holmes has been a student since the beginning of the school year, Scott had just begun attending school that day after transferring from another school, while the third student involved started earlier that week.
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The assistant principal called for assistance from additional staff members once the students began fighting. Once another staff member arrived, they both tried to intervene and break up the fight. Staff members were able to separate Scott and the second student from Holmes, who was lying on the ground.
The staff member who removed Scott from Holmes said that they began to back away, then Holmes started reaching for something in his pockets, the documents outlined.
Holmes got up off the ground and was reportedly holding a knife. Holmes then moved towards Scott and swung the knife, striking him on the right side of the chest. Holmes lunged at Scott again and stabbed him in the stomach.
After realizing he was stabbed, Scott went towards the nurse’s office but quickly collapsed, while Holmes walked away.
> Previously: Student Fatally Stabbed Inside Harding High School
The court documents said the entire incident was captured by multiple surveillance cameras. While reviewing cameras, investigators say security staff arrived shortly after the stabbing took place. The assistant principal was able to point out Holmes to security staff, who struggled with Holmes before taking him to the ground and placing him in handcuffs.
Security staff located and secured a knife with blood on it from Holmes. Security staff told investigators that Holmes said he was “being jumped,” the documents said.
During the autopsy on Scott, the medical examiner identified a laceration across his chest which also punctured his heart and lung. His manner of death was determined to be homicide.
Holmes was scheduled to make an initial court appearance at the Ramsey County Juvenile and Family Justice Center on Tuesday afternoon. Prosecutors have filed a presumptive motion for adult certification in the case and a judge will decide whether to certify Holmes as an adult at a future court hearing.
Classes at Harding High School were cancelled Monday and Tuesday while staff provided trauma specialists to students, staff and families.
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> TWITTER: Our initial thread on the incident
On Monday, Saint Paul Public Schools sent a letter to all staff outlining new measures being taken in wake of the fatal stabbing. In the letter, officials said a third full-time school support liaison would be added to the security team at Harding and the Saint Paul Police Department is placing two officers at five high schools throughout Saint Paul on a short-term basis, but those officers will remain outside the school buildings. The letter stated that school officials are working closely with Saint Paul Police to determine what long-term plans could look like.
Previously, the Saint Paul School Board voted to remove Saint Paul police school resource officers in June of 2020, shortly after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police officers. At the time, the district’s high school principals unanimously opposed the idea. Since then, the school district has hired school and “community support liaisons” tasked with school safety.
The stabbing is the latest in a series of serious incidents occurring in or near Saint Paul schools just this year. On January 18, a shooting at a recreation center across from Central High School left a teenager in critical condition. The high school was placed into “lockout” procedure and canceled classes the next day. On January 20, shots fired near the Washington Technology Magnet School left a teacher with a graze wound and put the school into lockdown and cancelled all evening activities.
On Monday evening, a candlelight vigil and balloon release took place outside the school, bringing hundreds to mourn and remember Scott.
> Previously: Student Fatally Stabbed Inside Harding High School