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Victim speaks as teen suspect in stabbing at Orem school charged with attempted murder

Posted at 9:48 PM, Nov 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-24 10:18:59-05

OREM, Utah -- Disturbing details are emerging after five students were stabbed at an Orem high school earlier this month, and one victim who was stabbed described what happened when a teen went on a rampage in the boy's locker room.

“I still don't believe it honestly; It's still pretty hard to believe,” said Yafeth Ortiz, who was stabbed in the neck by his 16-year-old classmate.

Yafeth Ortiz says the story behind this stab wound is mostly a blur.

“I hear someone yelling, 'There's someone killing in here,'” Ortiz said.

Charging documents shine light on the terrifying moments that unfolded inside the boy's locker room.

“I was like, 'Is this a dream? Please let this be a dream,'” Ortiz recalls.

The teen suspect came prepared. Documents state he "brought with himself to school a bo staff, knives, and other tools to inflict physical violence against others."

“It's still kinda frightening, it's still hard to explain,” Ortiz said.

The teen first smashed one victim on the head with a bo staff, breaking the martial arts weapon. The four other victims were stabbed. One was stabbed in the neck, severing a main artery. Another was stabbed, "then attempted to play dead as a method of survival."

Ortiz recalls those horrifying moments.

“He had his eyes open, holding his neck, his feet were shaking a bit,” Ortiz said.

Then the teen suspect approached Ortiz and raised his arm with a knife in hand.

“He looked straight into my eyes and says, 'Hey Yafeth.' He calls me by name and then stabs me,” Ortiz said.

The knife narrowly missed major arteries in Ortiz's neck.

“I see blood dripping, I look at my hands, there's a bunch of blood," Ortiz said. "I look at my shirt, there's blood everywhere pretty much."

Ortiz escaped and hid.

“I got thoughts, I was like, 'I’m dead. I’m done,'” Ortiz said.

Finally the teen suspect was cornered and tasered by a school resource officer. That's when the teen stabbed himself in the neck. Police later found out, "he had left behind a suicide note at his house."

The teen later told police, "he was surprised he was able to try and kill more people than he expected to be able to."

Ortiz says he feels like there is a reason he survived.

“I feel like I was being protected and watched over,” Ortiz said.

Documents reveal even more disturbing details, like how the student suspect wore red because he knew there would be a lot of blood.

Ortiz is OK, along with three other victims. But one victim is still in the ICU in stable but serious condition.

The teen suspect was charged earlier this week with five counts of attempted criminal homicide, which are first-degree felonies. He was also charged with failure to stop at the command of a law officer and possession of a dangerous weapon with the intent to assault.