Billings teen stabbed teacher, then herself

Jason Rader, a math teacher at Billings Senior High School, was stabbed during a violent altercation on January 13, 2026. The attack occurred at approximately 4:23 PM, after regular school hours, shocking the Billings, Montana community.

Jason Rader, a math teacher at Billings Senior High School, was stabbed during a violent altercation on January 13, 2026. The attack occurred at approximately 4:23 PM, after regular school hours, shocking the Billings, Montana, community.

The stabbing took place on the third floor of the building following an altercation between the teacher and a girl student. A reportedly 18-year-old student attacked the teacher inside the school after regular school hours while a concert, wrestling meet, driver’s ed class, and possibly other activities were being held. There were no cameras in the classroom.

 

Information on whether Jason Rader was the student’s teacher has not been released. 

Both suffered stab wounds and were treated and released at a local hospital.

School staff immediately notified 911 and placed the building into a lockdown. At the time of the incident, numerous students and families were present for scheduled events.

According to witnesses, the teacher ran out of his classroom after the stabbing and into another classroom down the hall, which was full of students.

On Wednesday afternoon, Superintendent Erwin Garcia said both the student and teacher should recover, adding, “I care for the well-being of both individuals in this situation”.

The alleged attacker has been identified online. We will not be sharing this information for now because she may be a minor, although reports do state that the attacker is 18 years old. 

 

There are rumors that the student and the teacher were romantically involved, and other speculative narratives abounding online about potential motives for the attack. 

 

When asked about these rumors, Superintendent Erwin Garcia replied:  “I’m not aware of any relationship beyond the relationship of a teacher and a student. The investigation will shed more light. My message for that teacher is to focus on recovery. I know that this teacher has a family and people that care about him”.

The teacher suffered a “non-life-threatening” stab wound, and both victims were transported to the hospital. The teacher is currently in stable condition and receiving medical care. Law enforcement has confirmed that all parties involved have been accounted for and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

 

All classes and extracurricular activities at Senior High School were canceled for Wednesday, January 14th. Students returned to school on Thursday, January 16.

 

Coach Wade Austin described the frightening scene inside the school in the minutes after the stabbing, saying “It’s a little scary because you know, you want the safety of the kids, right? You don’t know who’s in the building. It was late afternoon, but there was plenty of activity going on”.

 

Austin was among the many people inside the building when the incident took place as the Broncs were hosting Billings West in a wrestling dual. “We didn’t know that anybody got hurt,” Austin said. “We didn’t know that anything was going on in the building”.

 

Austin praised the response, saying “I thought that the faculty did a great job of getting things shut down and getting people out of the hallways or sheltering them in place in classrooms. Like, Drivers Ed was just down the hall, and they were in a classroom. They were doing that in a lot of places once they identified where people were at”.

 

Additionally, according to several parents, the teacher ran out of his classroom after the stabbing and into another classroom down the hall, which was full of students.

 

The Superintendent also mentioned that “we had students crying, teachers and students needing counselors” who witnessed the aftermath of the incident.

 

As this is an active criminal investigation, the District is working closely with the Billings Police Department. Details about the suspect and the motive remain limited as authorities continue their investigation.

In the wake of the stabbing, the Billings community has rallied to support both the school and the injured teacher. The Billings Education Association launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help cover costs for Jason Rader and his family. The fundraiser started on Monday evening with around $3,000 and by Tuesday afternoon had raised over $12,000 toward a $15,000 goal.

 

”The road ahead will be long and challenging,” the GoFundMe stated. “The Billings Education Association is launching this fundraiser to help carry some of the weight this family is facing and to show them they are not alone. Many educators have asked how they can help, and this fundraiser provides a direct way to support a fellow family of educators during this time.”

 

The fundraiser will assist with potential legal costs, living expenses, and help with “creating small opportunities for comfort, joy and distraction as they move forward.” The teacher reportedly received multiple stab wounds in the assault.

 

The families of the school’s wrestling team organized a soup and salad luncheon on Tuesday afternoon for the staff, demonstrating the tight-knit nature of the Senior High community.

 

”I feel like our community has stepped up to just show us love and support as a staff, which is amazing. We’ve had something, I think, every single day since we’ve been back,” said math teacher and basketball coach Brooke Taylor.

 

Taylor also praised the students’ response: “It’s not only the staff and the community around Senior, but the kids here too are just amazing. And so, I think we know that we are in this together. And I think you can feel that and that level of care for each other moving into the second semester.”

 

Principal Shelli Strouf said the luncheon exemplifies the unity the school has experienced since the stabbing. “It’s really actually brought us together even closer than we were before, which is something to say, because we’ve always kind of had that feeling of family,” Strouf said.

 

Billings Education Association President Lance Edward, a former Billings West English teacher, told trustees at a Billings Public Schools board meeting Monday night: “The thing you need to know about Senior is that it’s this incredibly tight community.” Edward was wearing orange and black, Senior’s school colors, during the meeting.

 

Edward called the assault “eye-opening,” but didn’t want it to reflect negatively on Senior High. “I know there will be some things that we can learn from this,” Edward said. “Once again, I applaud the professionals and people that are involved, the people who directly helped in the aftermath of the situation, the people who walked down and collected students and barricaded doors. There couldn’t have been better people who responded.”