Teen Stabbed Repeatedly In NJ School Cafeteria While Staff Watched, Lawsuit Says

WAYNE, NJ — A special education school in Wayne is being sued after a teenage student was stabbed several times by another in the cafeteria.

Lakeview Learning Center, an alternative therapeutic private special education school on Van Duyne Avenue, is facing a lawsuit a year after staff members failed to intervene in a violent attack against a student, court documents read.

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On May 19, 2025, a 14-year-old Lakeview student identified only as J.W. was eating lunch in the facility's cafeteria when 18-year-old student Rayshawn Christian, listed as a defendant, initiated an argument, the suit reads.

The conflict escalated, and no staff members stepped in, according to the lawsuit.

Eventually, Christian pulled a pocket knife out and began stabbing J.W. several times in the chest, arms, and abdomen, the suit says.

The violent attack lasted several minutes, until Christian stepped away from J.W., who had to escort himself to the nurse's office with no help from the staff, according to the suit.

The incident left J.W. in the hospital for a month, where he underwent treatment for several lacerations, including stab wounds near his heart, the suit reads.

The suit adds that a friend of Christian posted photos of J.W. being taken out of the school on a stretcher, alongside text that read "(J.W.) was talkin allat shii know look u!! left on a stretcher told u stop playin."

The same user also posted several photographs of guns with ominous threats to J.W., according to the lawsuit.

On the day of the attack, Christian was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, according to the NJ Courts site. Court proceedings remain pending on Christian's case.

Following the incident, J.W. was "terrified of returning to Lakeview," leaving him with no alternative but to attend homeschooling, the suit says.

The plaintiff, J.W.'s parent, claims negligence, specifically negligent supervision and training with regard to Lakeview. The suit also names Christian, who is being sued for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other counts.

Patch has reached out to Lakeview Learning Center representatives for comment, but they were not immediately available.