Two students were taken to a hospital following a stabbing Thursday at James Lick High School in San Jose, according to police.
One of the students was treated for non-life threatening injuries, police said on social media, adding that the other suffered life-threatening injuries but had since been stabilized.
The stabbings happened at around 11:30 a.m. Thursday outside of P.E., which led to the school going into lockdown.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“I was just walking around the school toward the back,” said Mark Walker, a Junior at the school, “and all I saw was a bunch of kids running and screaming.”
Students shared a video with NBC Bay Area which showed two separate fights on the school’s basketball courts, leading to the stabbing at some point.
One student said he was inside the weight room when the fight started on the other side of the door.
“I [saw] my teacher run outside,” said Humberto Ulloa, “and she was on the walkie talkie and she was like ‘oh, there’s a fight.’ And I went outside and I [saw] two people getting jumped from our school. And then after she was like ‘get paper towels’ because there was hella blood.”
Ulloa told NBC Bay Area it looked like one person was stabbed in the back, while the other was stabbed in the arm.
After the stabbings, the school was on lockdown for about an hour until administrators released students early. Concerned parents rushed to the campus to pick up their kids.
“There’s a lot of things going on nowadays that we need to be more cautious with our kids. I think the school needs to be more on top of protection for our kids. And better communication,” said Yolanda Perez, a parent.
The suspect or suspects left the campus before officers arrived on scene, according to police
Some students say fights are common, but that they don’t escalate to this kind of violence.
“I just feel unsafe,” said Ulloa. “It’s weird. It’s crazy, we’re just in high school.”
James Lick High School released a statement Thursday which, in part, read: “At East Side Union High School District our first concern is always for the safety and well-being of our students, their families, and staff who were impacted by this event. We will continue to make resources available for James Lick students including our Wellness Centers and counseling.”
At a school board meeting Thursday night, the district superintendent and board president addressed the stabbing.
“We are working with law enforcement and looking into what can be done in preventing situations like this in the future, so we will be assessing our safety needs,” said board president Lorena Chavez.
The district also sent out a letter to families informing them of the incident and the mental health services they offer.
