Parents react to stabbing at Portage la Prairie school
Posted September 22, 2026 6:35 pm.
Questions about safety are front and centre in Portage la Prairie after a student was stabbed on school grounds. Parents are now weighing whether they feel comfortable sending their kids to school and if more security is needed to keep students safe.
“It’s concerning because the level of violence is so extreme,” said Kathy Cherkas-Cote, whose grandson goes to Portage Collegiate Institute.
She’s worried about his safety at the school after Monday’s stabbing.
“Just imagine having that fear of being in school and having the anger of individuals who don’t receive proper treatment to know how to deal with their anger issues,” said Cherkas-Cote.
RCMP say that officers were called to the high school shortly after 10 in the morning. Officers and paramedics found a 14-year-old with a stab wound.
Police say a 15-year-old suspect was located minutes later at a home in Portage la Prairie, and he was taken into custody.
Superintendent Pamela Garnham says she cannot provide much on the specific incident, but the division does not believe other students were in imminent danger.
“Our internal investigation shows it was not a random attack, but currently the RCMP are investigating this matter, so we don’t want to interfere with their investigation,” said Garnham.
Some parents CityNews spoke to found comfort in that information.
“Those people knew each other, and we don’t know what’s happening between their relationship. As long as they stay out of the wrong crowd, they’ll be ok,” said
Some residents have organized an online petition demanding increased security at Portage la Prairie schools. They want to see security guards, controlled entrances, and metal detectors.
But Garnham says that aside from metal detectors, most of the demands have been implemented for years and the division is continually looking at better ways to keep students safe.
“I think it’s just really important that our community understands that we do everything that we could possibly do to keep our students safe. And again, when an incident like this occurs, we go back, we reflect, and we go, what do we need to do better,” said Garnham.
