By Nathan Duke
Police have arrested a 16-year-old Woodhaven student who attends Elmhurst’s Newtown High School after he allegedly stabbed another teenager during school last week, the Queens district attorney said.
Brian Godoy, of Woodhaven, was arraigned Saturday before Queens Criminal Court Judge John LaTella on charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon, Queens DA Richard Brown said.
The defendant, who was held on $5,000 bail, will return to court March 25, the DA said.
Godoy was arrested Friday after he was accused of stabbing a 17-year-old student in the back and stomach at Newtown High School, at 48-01 90th St. in Elmhurst, according to the criminal complaint.
The defendant allegedly used a kitchen knife in the attack, during which he punctured the victim’s lung, the DA said. The victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was treated for his wounds and listed in stable condition, police said.
Godoy allegedly admitted to police that he stabbed the victim, the DA said. Officers at the scene discovered a black-handled kitchen knife on the school’s first-floor landing.
A police spokesman said the stabbing was part of an ongoing dispute.
Students at the school, none of whom would give their names, said they were held in their classes following the stabbing and that periods were extended.
One 11th-grade student said she heard that the suspect had thrown the knife out of the school’s third-floor window. Perimeters were set up at the school following the incident.
“There were a lot of security guards everywhere,” she said.
Another 10th-grader from Corona said students were not allowed to leave their classrooms.
“I heard it might have been gang-related,” he said of the incident.
But another junior at the school, who was also from Corona, said Newtown is one of the city’s most diverse schools and that the incident was atypical.
“These things happen,” he said. “It’s a good school.”
None of the students knew either of the teens allegedly involved in the incident.
A woman who answered the phone Friday in the principal’s office at Newtown High School but did not identify herself said, “I’m sorry, we have no comment.”
A city Department of Education spokeswoman said the injuries in the incident, which took place around 11:30 a.m., were not life-threatening.
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
