Two Southern California high school students were stabbed; sources said one attacker was only 14 years old

Two students were stabbed on the campus of Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga on Monday.

Both students were hospitalized with injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening, and a suspect is in police custody, according to the latest news from the school district.

Los Angeles Police Department Public Information Officer Tony Im said the stabbing occurred around 1:45 p.m.

Ren said as many as four people were involved in the attack on the two students, who fled the area in a car after the violence. The official confirmed that two students had been taken to hospital for treatment, but he did not know their conditions.

A school district source with knowledge of the incident said a 17-year-old man suffered stab wounds or lacerations to his head, shoulders and back. The second student was injured after stepping in to help the first student, the source added.

Sources said one of the attackers, a possible knife wielder, was 14 years old.

Sources say there are concerns the incident is gang-related.

The school district declined to confirm or deny further information.

Earlier this school year, a 17-year-old boy was injured in a shooting outside Granada Hills Charter High School.

During the first week of school, a student was stabbed on the campus of Franklin High School in Highland Park. The teens who were shot and stabbed required hospitalization, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

There have also been several incidents of students possessing loaded and unloaded firearms.

In Verdugo Hills, the first notification of Monday’s stabbing was sent to parents at 2:24 p.m.

“An incident occurred on our campus requiring our school to go into ‘lockdown’ at 2:08 p.m.,” the alert said.

During the lockdown, all school doors are locked and students must remain in safe and supervised spaces, such as classrooms.

The next notification has a timestamp of 3:07 PM

“Our school currently remains on lockdown,” the latest news said. “In response to the student violence that occurred at 2:00 p.m., we have implemented lockdown procedures. The students remain safe and the parents of the students involved have been contacted.”

The school’s normal dismissal time is 3:36 p.m.

The third notice was issued at 3:50 p.m.

“The lockdown on our campus has been lifted and our school remains open and safe for instruction.” Los Angeles school police “stated that the police operation has ended and a suspect has been detained.”

The alert also includes general information about the victims: “Two students were injured but received immediate medical attention from responding officers and emergency medical personnel. The injured were subsequently transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

The latest news said that per standard procedure, the district will deploy mental health workers to campuses “for the remainder of the week,” along with additional community school police patrols and campus officers.