The stitches and bandages are still fresh for Catherine Sullivan.  So are the memories.

Sullivan was standing in front of Lamar High School with friends, waiting for class to start Monday morning when she was approached by a strange man.

Police say Larry Paul Newton, 48, is a mentally ill man who had not taken his medication.   The teens said he had two knives.

When one of the kids in the group inquired about what Newton was doing, he reportedly jumped on Sullivan and started slashing at her.

“I wasn’t sure where I was getting stabbed, because I didn’t feel anything. I was just in shock,” Sullivan said. “I was screaming and he was on me. I didn’t know he was stabbing me. I was just trying to get away.”

Sullivan’s friends and an HISD officer rushed in and tackled Newton.

In a message sent out to parents, Lamar Principal Dr. James McSwain said the situation was under control. 

“This appears to be an isolated event perpetrated by a mentally ill individual who appeared just to be unmedicated and is being dealt with accordingly,” Dr. McSwain said in the message. “There is no further danger to students. Everyone appears to be safe.”

The message also said that counseling is available for the students, and that parents would be updated on the incident as information becomes available.

But Sullivan’s mother is angry.  She said no one from the school called her.

“I think someone from the administration should have called me, not a student,” she said.

It was an uneasy lesson for Catherine Sullivan and her friends: How easily a sense of safety can be lost.

“It was really scary. I thought I was going to die,” she said.