LOS ANGELES (CNS) — As an investigation continued into the stabbing of two teenage boys near Los Angeles High School, Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday she plans to work with the district and convene meetings to bolster safety around school campuses.
“In the past two weeks, we’ve seen near-death overdoses at an LAUSD middle school, the death of a mother and critical injury of her child as they walked to school, and a stabbing on the grounds of an LAUSD school,” Bass said in a statement. “These devastating incidents are unacceptable. Superintendent (Alberto) Carvalho and I spoke yesterday about strategies to keep our teachers, students and employees safe and together we will host convenings of stakeholders and community members focusing on safety in and around our schools. We must — and will — do more.”
The stabbings occurred around 4:25 p.m. Monday near Los Angeles High School in the 4600 block of Olympic Boulevard, between West and Rimpau boulevards.
Two teenage boys, age 15 and 16, were injured. Los Angeles police said one of the victims was a student at the high school, but the other was not. Both were taken to a hospital in stable condition, according to LAPD Chief Michel Moore. He said the stab wounds were to the students’ upper back, right arm and right leg.
Police said witnesses described what they believed to be a fistfight among six to 10 people, some of whom appeared to be possible students at the school, and two vehicles — a black Toyota and a red Cadillac — leaving the scene after the altercation.
Moore told the Police Commission on Tuesday that the people in the group appeared to range in age from 15 to 20.
“Over the course of their investigation, we have detained three individuals that we believe had some aspects of involvement in this,” Moore said Tuesday morning. “None of them attended the LA High School.”
Police said the three people — one man and two teen boys — were detained around 11 p.m. Monday in the 2300 block of West Jefferson Boulevard. Moore said the teens were ages 14 and 17. The 17-year-old boy was arrested for allegedly being in possession of a firearm, Moore said.
According to the LAPD, the 14-year-old boy and the man were both questioned and eventually released, and the investigation was ongoing.
Moore said investigators have yet to determine a “motivation for this or what precipitated this violence.”
In addition, Moore said, “Our investigation has also recovered two knives and two handguns,” Moore said. “Our interviews are evolving.”
After the attack Monday, Carvalho called it “another senseless stabbing in our community near Los Angeles High School.”
“Our thoughts go out to the two victims and their families,” he said. “All of our students deserve to go to school free of fear and full of hope. We must work together to continue to provide safe passages to and from school.
“Law enforcement is currently investigating this incident, and we are working with the school to ensure our campus remains safe. Counselors and mental health support will be provided to those who may need it in school tomorrow.”
The stabbing was the latest concerning incident to occur on or near an LAUSD campus. On Monday, three teenage girls at Johnnie L. Cochran Middle School in Arlington Heights were hospitalized after falling ill from possible overdoses.
Last week a woman walking her 6-year-old daughter to school at Hancock Park Elementary School was fatally struck by a motorist who may have suffered some type of medical emergency. The young girl was critically injured but survived.
Carvalho said another student was struck by a vehicle the following day outside a school near downtown Los Angeles. On Tuesday, he said another student was struck Monday night while walking home from Joyner Elementary School, and another was hit Monday morning near Fairfax High School.
“Mayor Karen Bass and I agree that unacceptable and preventable frequency of vehicular incidents are impacting the health, well-being and safety of our children,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Carvalho referenced the possible overdoses at Cochran Middle School, and noted that school officials have administered the anti-overdose medication Narcan more than two dozen times since the medication was made available at all LAUSD campuses last year in response to the overdose death of a student in Hollywood.