A parent stabbed the principal at South Point

A Huntington man repeatedly stabbed an elementary school principal Thursday afternoon in southeast Ohio, according to South Point police.

Joshua Lee Collins, 43, was arrested on suspicion of felonious assault after attacking South Point Elementary School Principal Bill Christian as Collins tried to pick up his child during the school day.

Staff let Collins through the first door, but he was “still on lockdown,” said Chris Majors, South Point police chief.

“He was only allowed to enter the lobby, not the school,” Majors said.

According to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Christian encountered Collins in the hallway just outside the office door. “Collins was upset about the child’s custody issue,” the release said. “While Mr. Christian was talking to Collins, Collins pulled a knife from his pocket and began stabbing Mr. Christian in the neck and upper torso.”

When Christian managed to return to the office behind closed doors, Collins broke the window and entered the office, chasing Christian throughout the office and then into the cafeteria.

South Point police responded within a minute of receiving the call from the school at 1:41 p.m

“Once the officer got inside, he confronted the suspect and was able to subdue him very quickly,” Majors said. “He went ahead and stopped him and put him in the back of the police car.”

All schools in South Point were immediately closed. No one else was injured during the incident.

“The children were not in danger at any time,” Majors said.

He said that once the police chief arrived, it only took about 20 minutes to get the children out of the school.

“We let the children out of the windows in different directions so that they weren’t near the crime scene and didn’t see anything that could be traumatic for them,” Majors said. “The handover of the children to their parents went smoothly.”

The school nurse treated Christian at the scene until Lawrence County EMS arrived. The ambulance transported the director to St. Hospital. Mary’s in Huntington.

At this time, police have not provided any updates on Christian’s condition. Social media posts from close family members indicate that Christian was in the ICU in stable condition.

According to the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Collins suffered cuts to his arms “possibly from a broken window” and was also transported to St. Mary’s. Deputies accompanied Collins to the hospital. Huntington police arrested Collins on an outstanding warrant for felonious assault.

The sheriff’s office said an extradition hearing will be held before Collins is returned to Lawrence County to face charges. The news release said additional charges will be filed as the investigation continues.

*The BCI&I Crime Unit is investigating the scene and detectives continue to investigate.

As of Thursday evening, police had not yet released any details about the weapon.

According to Majors, the sheriff’s office, Chesapeake police, Coal Grove police and other agencies quickly arrived.

“The response has been phenomenal,” Majors said. “I couldn’t be happier with all the agencies involved and my guys showed up within minutes.”

The school’s principal was on duty, but he was at South Point High School at the time of the attack.

According to Majors, Collins was on the radar of the South Point Police Department due to past encounters, but was not aware of any previous threats to the school or school staff.

“He threatened the South Point Police Department,” Majors said. “He had some problems with us and didn’t like the way we enforced the law. We had a few clashes with him.”

Majors praised the school staff for handling the situation correctly and quickly.

Christian is in his first year as principal at South Point Elementary School. He had been a teacher for 33 years, according to the South Point local school district. He started his career at Huntington St. Joe and then joined South Point High in 1996 as a science teacher. Christian started at South Point Elementary School as an intervention specialist in 1999. In 2012, he became deputy principal. Current Superintendent Chris Mathes was principal when Christian was assistant principal.