The elementary school principal stabbed by a parent had warned law enforcement three days before the attack about a possible problem with a parent.
On Thursday afternoon, 43-year-old Joshua Collins, the father of a South Point Elementary student, came to the school and stabbed Principal William Christian.
Collins was speaking with Christian, who was upset about a custody issue when the man pulled a knife and stabbed him. Christian ran into his office and locked the door. Collins broke the glass out of the door and got into the office. He chased the principal through the offices and into the cafeteria, where a Sout Point Officer took Collins into custody.
A school nurse and Lawrence County EMS treated Christian at the school before taking him to a local hospital. No students or other staff were injured during the incident.
Officers arrested Collins for felonious assault and transported him to the hospital for treatment of injuries sustained when he broke the glass.
Just three days prior, Principal Christian had called in officers to assist with a parent who was angry about a custody dispute and behaving strangely. The name of the parent was redacted in the police report, but the details of the incident seem to match up.
Employees of South Point Elementary called the school resource officer for assistance after some very strange behavior from a father. They said the man had stopped into the office to drop off some medications for his child to use at his former wife’s home but began acting oddly.
He asked a secretary to copy some papers but then accused her of taking one of his documents. He then demanded employees check the trash for the paper and got quite aggressive with the staff.
He then took out his phone and began to snap pictures of the office and hallway as well as the employees. He left the building, but called back in a few minutes to see if they had contacted his former wife yet. The man said he would have to come back to make sure the call was made.
While the office was calling the former wife, he called back for a third time.
Officers later met with family members and learned there were fears the man was off his medications and could be a threat to himself or others. They also learned the man had made multiple threats to the South Point Police Department, saying “they don’t have enough firepower,” and also uploaded a photo of himself with a gun to social media.
The decision was made to upgrade police presence at the school for the afternoon.
