Julia Nitchman, who sat near Hribal in an

Julia Nitchman, who sat near Hribal in an English class, said he seemed like "a kind of quiet kid" who was into computers. She said he didn't seem to have a

large circle of friends: "He's very quiet, not very social. He just kind of laid low."

At first, many pupils thought a fight had broken out when they heard the ruckus at about 7:15 a.m., shortly before classes began.

Then the reality set in.

Mia Meixner saw a classmate who had fallen in the hallway stand up. He lifted his shirt to reveal a stab wound to his stomach.

"I saw blood gushing everywhere," said Meixner, 16. She said the stabber began sprinting down the hallway, knocking people over.

Cameron Lazor, also 16, said she saw the assailant holding two knives — described by police later as measuring 8 to 10 inches long each.

Lazor watched the attacker struggle with some boys trying to subdue him. He escaped after wounding one of the boys and continued his rampage, stabbing anyone

who did not run fast enough to escape the flailing blades.