Conflict, and then chaos as stabbing stuns campus
By KATHLEEN McGRORY, HOWARD COHEN AND JENNIFER LEBOVICH

With students spilling into the hallways and courtyard of Coral Gables Senior High School on Tuesday morning, 17-year-old Juan Carlos Rivera found himself outside the gym at about 9 a.m., locked in a shoving match with another student.

Reportedly tussling over the affection of a girl, Juan Carlos and the other boy pushed each other in what seemed like a typical schoolyard fight that would be settled with fists.

Instead, witnesses said the boy, identified as Andy Rodriguez, pulled a blade on Juan Carlos and stabbed him three times -- once in the chest, once in the collarbone and once near the stomach.

As Juan Carlos lay dying on the ground, the boy dashed away but was caught almost immediately by Coral Gables police.

Within minutes, the school was in lockdown, with top school district officials, police and panicked parents descending on the campus -- struggling to comprehend the death of one student at the hands of another.

``This will be a very lengthy and detailed investigation,'' said Detective Alvaro Zabaleta, a Miami-Dade police spokesman.

Rodriguez, 17, was interrogated by detectives and was charged late Tuesday with second-degree murder, police said.

``Obviously something went very wrong here today. We'll have many conversations about what we'll learn from this very terrible tragedy,'' said Miami-Dade School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a news conference at the school at 450 Bird Rd.

WAS HAPPY AT HOME

At Juan Carlos' home in Miami, his cousin Laura Peinado, 20, told reporters that the slain teen -- who was originally from Cuba -- had moved to Miami only about five months ago. She said he was happy to be in high school, and determined to graduate.

``He didn't talk about any problems,'' she said.

Juan Carlos lived in a two-story Miami apartment with his grandmother and uncle, said Peinado, adding that the boy's mother still lives in Cuba and his father lives in Spain.

She said she saw the news of the killing and started calling him. She couldn't reach him and rushed to the school.

``We waited until 2:30 for the dismissal and he never came out,'' she said.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's office is helping to arrange a humanitarian visa for the mother.

Said Peinado: ``I want justice from whoever killed my cousin.''

A woman who answered the telephone at the mother's home in Havana told an El Nuevo Herald reporter that Anaís Cruz was not ready to talk about her son's death.

``She's here with those who love her -- her neighbors, her co-workers -- but she is in no condition to speak to anyone,'' said the woman.

Classmate Yani Acosta, 16, had a P.E. class with Juan Carlos.

``He always had a smile on his face,'' she said, crying. ``He was really happy. He was a funny kid.''

Witnesses told The Miami Herald that the surreal crime scene turned chaotic in the aftermath of the slaying.

``It was like watching a movie,'' said Felix Cedeño, a sophomore who saw the fight on his way to the restroom. ``It just keeps on replaying in my mind. He died right there.''

Felix said he rushed to the stabbing victim's aid, only to find the teen unable to speak.

``He was gasping for air. He was clutching his chest, bleeding everywhere,'' he said.

``As I got to him, his eyes were open, teary-eyed,'' said Alex Lorig, 16, who still had the victim's blood on his school uniform slacks Tuesday afternoon.