A 15-year-old boy is dead and a 16-year-old boy in critical condition after a deadly stabbing Wednesday, allegedly at the hands of another student inside a Bronx school. It was the first time in 25 years something like this had happened in the city. And with mayor's race in full swing, the tragedy is already turning political. NY1 Political Reporter Grace Rauh filed the following report.

"No one should politicize a tragedy," Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.

And yet in the aftermath of a deadly stabbing at a school in the Bronx on Wednesday, de Blasio's political rivals went on the attack.

"This is not about the mayor, this is not about this election. This is about the safety of our children," Nicole Malliotakis told me.

The Republican nominee for mayor, State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, said the Bronx school where the stabbing occurred should have had metal detectors. She said retired police officers, who are armed, should be stationed in the city's most dangerous schools.

"There's a mentality now in the school system that students can do whatever they want, and they can bully others, they can punch teachers in the face, they can bring marijuana into the classroom, and they're going to face absolutely no penalty," Malliotakis said.

Just last month, the mayor was celebrating the city's school safety record, declaring the last school year was the safest on record.

"It is unacceptable to ever lose a child to violence in a school building," de Blasio said in a briefing after the stabbing. "We will redouble our efforts to protect every child. We will use every measure to make sure every child is safe."

Bo Dietl, an independent running for mayor, said the city's school safety numbers are not to be trusted. State data has actually shown violence in city schools to be on the rise in recent years.

"Crime is down in his mind of de Blasio for the fact that half of the crimes are not being reported," Dietl said.

Overall, crime in the city may be at record low levels, but the stabbing means school safety concerns are sure to be debated in the coming weeks of this campaign.