A Shaler teenager who "looked wrong" at another youth at Shaler Area High School on Tuesday wound up with a bloody gash on his face, police said.
Brandon Lordeon, 17, a former district student, was arrested at the school about 7:30 a.m. and charged, as an adult, with aggravated assault and criminal trespass.
Shaler police said the victim, also 17, suffered a "severe laceration to his face, forehead and eyelid." Police did not release the youth's name.
"The victim apparently looked at him wrong, and (the assailant) took umbrage to the look," Shaler police officer Michael Heinl said. "He went over and said 'Do you have problem?' and slashed him.
"As soon as the slash occurred, there was an enormous amount of blood."
Exactly what the assailant used was not clear.
"Witnesses claimed a razor blade. The defendant is claiming a sewing needle. We couldn't recover any of those items," Heinl said.
He said police were waiting to talk to an emergency room doctor at Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Bloomfield, where the victim was treated, to find out what kind of weapon caused the wound. A hospital spokesman said the victim was treated and released.
Heinl said the victim did not know Lordeon, and there was no other physical confrontation besides the slash.
"There was nothing to break up," Heinl said. "It was just one slash and 'Oh my God.' I think everybody was in shock."
Lordeon was taken to the office of Vice Principal Janice Dunmire, where he waited until police arrived.
Jason Goetz, 19, a Shaler Area senior, said security guards should not have allowed him in the school.
"He's not even supposed to be here," Goetz said.
Heinl said Lordeon "hopped on a school bus (Monday) morning and walked right through the doors."
Police said the incident occurred in the school cafeteria, where some students gather before classes start.
High school Assistant Principal David Shutter referred questions about the incident to district Superintendent Donald Lee, who did not return calls seeking comment.
Police listed Lordeon's address as homeless on court papers and said he recently returned to the Pittsburgh area from eastern Pennsylvania.
According to police, Lordeon, formerly of Millvale, said he was emancipated in Bucks County and "was living wherever he could find a place to sleep."
Police said they made numerous, unsuccessful attempts to contact family or friends of Lordeon.
Lordeon was twice cited for disorderly conduct as a juvenile by Shaler police -- in December 1998 and January 2002, according to the office of Shaler District Justice Robert Dzvonick.
Lordeon was being held in the Allegheny County Jail on Monday in lieu of $10,000 bond.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 16.
