AUGUSTA – A stabbing before classes Wednesday morning in a hallway of Cony High School in Augusta sent a boy to an area hospital, but officials said the victim’s stab wounds were not life-threatening.

Principal Geraldine Massey said the two boys, about 15 or 16 years old, got into a fight as they were headed toward their homerooms.

Massey said one boy hit the other, who pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed his assailant five times. The principal said the wounds were not life threatening, and the stabbing victim was treated by a school nurse while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

The school was not releasing the names of the boys.

The boy with the knife was taken away by police, and Massey said she will seek to have him expelled. She said the other boy will face a lengthy suspension and be required to undergo counseling. The students could face criminal charges.

Students were confined to their homerooms while officials assessed the incident. Students who wanted to go home were allowed to leave.