Man charged with 1st-degree murder in death of Alberta student

A 19-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a student in Leduc, Alta., on Monday. 

Dylan Pountney of Leduc was set to appear in court on Tuesday in Edmonton, but courthouse staff told CBC News he was rescheduled to appear in court in Leduc on Thursday morning. 

Jennifer Winkler, 17, died Monday after being taken to hospital from Christ the King School in Leduc, south of Edmonton. She died in hospital from her injuries, RCMP said Monday. 

RCMP had responded to a call about a violent assault that morning. Police said the assault happened in one of the classrooms at the Catholic high school, which has about 350 students. 

Pountney and Winkler were known to each other, police confirmed. 

WATCH | Students, residents speak about fatal school stabbing:

Leduc students, residents react to fatal stabbing of teen girl at school

4 years ago

Duration 1:23

“You see your school on the news”: Leduc students and citizens recall the chain of events on Monday when a 17-year-old girl was fatally stabbed at school.

Classes in the St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Schools division were cancelled on Tuesday, but the school building itself remained open for students to access support services.

A trauma support team will remain at the school for the rest of the week, the division said in a news release.

Many students stopped by the school Tuesday, some with flowers and tokens of remembrance. 

Matthew Oliver, a Grade 11 student, said he and his friends were acquainted with Winkler. 

"She was a great person … she had her friends and she was great," Oliver said of Winkler. "You ask her something, she'd answer." 

Oliver said he wanted to visit the school after the incident to support other students and staff. 

"We're a really tight community and a lot of the teachers are really great friends with the students," he said. "There's a lot of feelings, people are crying and you really just got to be there for them." 

Oliver and his friends said they believe Pountney was a fairly new student at the high school. 

A GoFundMe page has been set up to accept donations for the family to cover funeral costs.

The creator of the page identifies herself as Winkler's sister; as of midday Tuesday, more than $26,000 had been raised, the page says.