7th graders tackle knife-wielding student who attacked teacher, sheriff says

Seventh-graders in Virginia jumped in to help when another student allegedly attacked a teacher with a knife, authorities said.

When a 12-year-old boy allegedly stabbed a teacher at Jonesville Middle School in western Virginia, "several students came in and tackled the kid, got him down and controlled him," Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons told ABC News on Thursday.

The teacher suffered non-life-threatening injuries and received stitches, the sheriff's office said.

"They're certainly to be commended and probably saved lives, certainly saved the teacher's life," Parsons said of the seventh-graders.

All students and other staff members are safe, the sheriff's office said.

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The 12-year-old suspect said he used a cutlery knife he took from the school kitchen, Parsons said.

The boy was taken into custody and is charged with aggravated malicious wounding and assault and battery, Parsons said.

The school district did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.