Investigators said the stabbing unfolded in seconds before classes began at Walton Middle School in DeFuniak Springs.
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. — A 12-year-old Walton Middle School student was charged with attempted murder after authorities said he stabbed two students and a school paraprofessional Tuesday morning in a brief attack that began before classes started and ended with his arrest minutes later.
The case quickly became one of the most serious school violence investigations the Florida Panhandle has faced this year. Investigators say the seventh grader used a kitchen knife, attacked three people in a hallway before the school day fully began, then ran from campus and tried to get rid of the weapon. By Wednesday, the suspect was being held without bond in secure juvenile detention, while two injured students remained hospitalized in intensive care.
Walton County authorities said the sequence began just after the student arrived on campus shortly before 7:20 a.m. According to the timeline released by investigators, the boy went directly into a bathroom after entering the school. Minutes later, Sheriff Michael Adkinson said, he came out wearing a balaclava and carrying a kitchen knife. The first victim, another student, was stabbed almost immediately. Seconds later, a female paraprofessional was wounded, and then a second student was attacked. The violence lasted roughly 35 seconds, according to the sheriff’s office. By 7:21 a.m., investigators said, the suspect had left the building and fled on foot. Deputies detained him nearby within about seven minutes. “This incident was brought under control within minutes,” Adkinson said, crediting the school resource deputy and responding officers.
Investigators said about 40 students were inside the building at the time because the school was in its early morning arrival period and had not fully opened for the day. Walton County Sheriff’s Office deputies and DeFuniak Springs police officers were already able to move quickly once the emergency call came in, officials said. The adult victim, identified only as a paraprofessional, was treated and later released from the hospital. One student was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Pensacola, while the other student and the paraprofessional were taken by ambulance for treatment. By Wednesday, officials said both student victims were still in the ICU and had undergone emergency procedures. Investigators also said the attack appeared random. They told reporters there was no known connection between the suspect and the three victims and no evidence, at least so far, that the students who were stabbed had been singled out in advance.
The attack shut down classes Tuesday and turned the campus into a reunification and crime-scene response zone. Bruce Avenue near the school was closed as law enforcement secured the area and families were directed to reunification arrangements away from campus. In later updates, officials said the knife had been recovered from a nearby retention pond, a detail that investigators said fit the timeline showing the suspect ran from the school and discarded the weapon before he was caught. Sheriff’s officials have not publicly discussed a motive. They also have not released the juvenile suspect’s name, citing his age and the status of the case. Authorities acknowledged the boy had been suspended about a month earlier, but they said that earlier disciplinary matter was not connected to Tuesday’s violence. Superintendent Russell Hughes said the district had not previously dealt with an incident of this kind.
By Wednesday, prosecutors and investigators had moved the case into a more formal stage. The suspect was charged as a juvenile with attempted murder, two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, wearing a mask during the commission of a felony, tampering with evidence and disrupting a school function. State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden said adult prosecution was still possible but had not yet been decided. She said her office could later seek an indictment if investigators and prosecutors conclude the facts support charging the boy as an adult. For now, officials say the case remains active, the suspect is being held in secure juvenile detention in Crestview, and investigators are still reviewing school surveillance footage, witness statements and medical evidence. No timetable has been announced for a court appearance beyond the juvenile process already underway.
Outside the legal steps, the attack has left a small school community trying to absorb how quickly the violence happened. Adkinson told reporters that no system can promise total prevention, even with school resource officers and safety plans in place. Hughes said district leaders chose to reopen the school the next day with extra staff support rather than leave hundreds of middle school students isolated at home with unanswered questions. The sheriff’s office urged the public not to speculate while detectives continue to sort through the evidence. The result, officials said, is a case with many core facts now established but some central questions still unresolved, especially why the boy armed himself before coming to school and why he attacked those three people.
The suspect remained in juvenile detention Wednesday, two student victims were still in intensive care, and investigators said more information would be released as the criminal case and school-based inquiry continue in the days ahead.
Author note: Last updated March 25, 2026.