Conn. teen dies following after-hours stabbing at elementary school

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy has died from a stab wound suffered during an after-hours fight outside a Connecticut elementary school, police said Wednesday.

East Haven Police were called to Tuttle Elementary School at 6:28 p.m. Tuesday. They discovered the injured teen, who had been assaulted with a knife during a physical altercation involving several people in a courtyard on school grounds. School was not in session at the time, police said.

The injured teen, who was identified by police as Dustin Cecarelli of North Branford, was treated on the scene for a stab wound to the chest, transported to a hospital and later died.

“All involved individuals in this altercation have been identified, are accounted for, and no threat to public safety exists," East Haven Police said in a Facebook post.

State Rep. Vincent Candelora, the Republican leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives whose district includes East Haven, said Wednesday the incident is part of an epidemic of crime the GOP has been warning about.

“We've been crying for reform. The Democrats are turning a blind eye, and children are now being killed,” he said. Democrats, who control the General Assembly, last year passed a wide-ranging bill meant to address juvenile crime with Republican support.

Scott Schoonmaker, superintendent of the East Haven Public Schools, said in a statement that school counselors, psychologists, social workers and other staff were being made available to help any students who need emotional support.