By Stephen Stirling
Authorities said 17-year-old Clarence Davis was taken to Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn in stable condition after being stabbed once in the chest shortly after 3 p.m. on Jan. 9. Hospital officials would not give an update on Davis' condition Tuesday. A faculty member from the school, which lies on the Queens-Brooklyn border near Woodhaven, said Davis was a freshman at the school. Police said an argument between a large group of students started outside the high school after students were let out for the day and spilled onto the subway. Authorities said the crowd dispersed after Davis was stabbed near the Norwood station in Brooklyn. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday and the investigation is ongoing, according to police. The school faculty member, who declined to be named, said the dispute occurred between two rival gangs, the Latin Kings and the Crips. A letter sent out to parents and faculty members by Principal Evan Ahern refuted police and witness accounts that the fight began outside the school. “I want to reassure the Lane community that this tragic incident was not the result of a fight that occurred in Lane or outside of Lane. Nor was it a fight between two Lane students,” Ahern said in the letter. “We have worked hard to improve the tone of the building and Franklin K. Lane High School will continue to be a safe school.”The faculty member said the high school itself is not unsafe, but several of the students who attend are involved with gangs and often get into violent altercations when the school day ends. “Lane is a safe school. When I'm in school, I don't ever worry about my safety,” the faculty member said. “Every time something like this happens my biggest fear is that I'm going to go into work and it's going to be one of my students.”Ahern's memo also expressed hope for Davis' speedy recovery and praised the work of the school's faculty in making the school a safer place.”I believe that students who know that their teachers and their schools care about them are better prepared to make healthy and safe choices,” the letter said.Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 162.
