Social media has steadily grown to become a significant component of mass casualty events, bringing breaking news from the scene before more established outlets can sift through the noise.
But today's stabbing spree at the Cy-Fair campus of Lone Star College appears to have brought with it a novel twist on the increasingly familiar formula.
An Instagram user claiming to have personally subdued the student responsible for stabbing 15 people at the school posted a photo to his account alleging to show the attacker on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back.
"Fuck this mothafucker stabbed 5 people.2 girls in the cheek," wrote cheesin365. "Everyone ran the other way I said fuck that. Me and this kid got em #lonestarstabbing #fuckthiskid #copsaretooslow"
He later followed that up with another photo — a selfie — supposedly showing him re-hydrating in the back of a squad car.
Photos released by Houston's KHOU 11 News suggest that the person seen face down in cheesin365's photo is indeed the alleged attacker (see below).
cheesin365, whose real name might be Steven Maida, appears to have taken to Twitter to elaborate on his heroism:
According to a student who spoke with the 21-year-old as-yet-unnamed suspect, a far more serious incident was prevented when the attacker's knife broke.
All told, 12 people had to be transported to the hospital, most with minor injuries. Two victims remain hospitalized and are listed in critical condition.
[H/T: BuzzFeed, photos via Instagram, Twitter]