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"He was covered in blood"

Posted by Katie Derksen on Feb. 3, 2009

School stabbing.

The minute I heard the words, I knew it wasn't going to be an average day.

My editor called me shortly before 8 a.m. this past Thursday and asked if I could head on over to South Milwaukee High School. One student had stabbed another. I grabbed my camera and headed out the door.

As I was caught in the morning rush hour, I kept thinking to myself, "It's going to be over before I get there. I'm going to be taking photos of police cars sitting in front of the high school." But once I arrived, I saw several members of the media talking with a group of students right outside the high school. Part of me was relieved we had the opportunity to tell the story from the students' point of view. Although it's never our goal to make pictures of people crying, sometimes, emotional pictures are the ones that make people think and provoke changes for the better.

One student in particular — freshman Nicole Ruszczynski — saw the victim shortly after he was stabbed. I decided to stick with photographing Nicole and her friends. The photos below do not tell the entire story, but at least they tell part of it. Since I arrived nearly an hour after the incident happened, most of the students were already back in their classrooms or heading home. A big thanks to Journal Sentinel photographer Mike Sears for helping me hash out the spelling of Nicole's last name.

Although the victim wasn't seriously injured, it's still a story that needs to be told. School officials realized this and were extremely cooperative with the media. South Milwaukee School District Superintendent David Ewald held a press conference a few hours after the incident.

Nikon D3, 86 mm, 2000 ISO, f2.8, 1/4000, Manual
Nicole Ruszczynski, a freshman at South Milwaukee High School, hugs one of her classmates Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009, following a stabbing incident between two students. Ruszczynski saw the victim shortly after he was stabbed. The injured student was taken to Children's Hospital, Milwaukee. The suspect is in custody.

Nikon D3, 125 mm, 2000 ISO, f2.8, 1/6400, Manual
"You could see the fear in his eyes," said Nicole Ruszczynski, a freshman at South Milwaukee High School, speaking of her classmate who was stabbed shortly before classes started Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009. "He was covered in blood." The injured student was taken to Children's Hospital, Milwaukee. The suspect is in custody.

Nikon D3, 120 mm, 2000 ISO, f2.8, 1/8000, Manual
"You could see the fear in his eyes," said Nicole Ruszczynski, a freshman at South Milwaukee High School, speaking of her classmate who was stabbed shortly before classes started Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009. "He was covered in blood." The injured student was taken to Children's Hospital, Milwaukee. The suspect is in custody.

Nikon D3, 17 mm, 2000 ISO, f2.8, 1/5000, Manual
"You could see the fear in his eyes," said Nicole Ruszczynski, a freshman at South Milwaukee High School, speaking of her classmate who was stabbed shortly before classes started Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009. "He was covered in blood." The injured student was taken to Children's Hospital, Milwaukee. The suspect is in custody.