DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. — A middle school student in the Florida Panhandle is accused of stabbing two other students and an adult paraprofessional on Tuesday, authorities said.
The attack took place at Walton Middle School in DeFuniak Springs. Two student victims -- also seventh-graders -- are in critical condition, while the adult was hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries, WEAR reported.
The accused attacker, a seventh-grader at Walton Middle School, was taken into custody after being apprehended near the school about seven minutes after the incident, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said during a news conference,
“This is the worst thing you can deal with as a sheriff, as a school ... this is what we all fear,” Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson told reporters. “And so we’re going to do our best to do this correctly.”
Spring Break return turns tragic at Walton Middle School as stabbing shocks communityhttps://t.co/CTFkxRL0Rd
— WEAR ABC 3 (@weartv) March 25, 2026
The incident occurred at about 7:17 a.m. CT before classes began. Adkinson said there were about 40 students in the school -- early drop-offs -- at the time of the attack, WJHG reported.
Adkinson said the suspect walked into a bathroom at the school then came out wearing a mask and armed with a sharp object. The sheriff said the suspect attacked “the first student he comes in contact with,” stabbing the victim several times, according to The New York Times.
The sheriff said the suspect attacked the “first student he comes in contact with,” stabbing the victim multiple times. The student then “separates from that individual,” and attacked the paraprofessional down a hall. He advances farther down the hall and stabbed a second student, Adkinson said.
Officials said the attack lasted approximately 45 seconds, according to WJHG.
Classes were canceled on Tuesday, but the school was set to reopen Wednesday, the television station reported.
“Our intention is to get children back in school as soon as possible,” Superintendent Russell Hughes told reporters. “School is a safe place and that’s where we want them.”
It was unclear whether charges would be filed, according to the Times.
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