Troubled School Had Lone Officer : Violence: Single official was unable to quell disturbance that led to two stabbings, a shooting at Grant High in Van Nuys. District defends staffing.

Despite signs that tensions between Armenian and Latino students at a Van Nuys high school were increasing this week, only one Los Angeles Unified School District police officer was on campus Tuesday when skirmishes erupted just outside the school gates, leading to two stabbings and a shooting.

School district police acknowledged Wednesday that the officer at Grant High School had requested help because of rumors that a fight might erupt, but that another officer was not dispatched to the school until after classes ended for the day.

Wes Mitchell, the Los Angeles school district police chief, said the district has just seven patrol units for the entire San Fernando Valley and that emergencies take priority over rumors of trouble.

The Grant officer, Jack Lee, was overwhelmed by the flare-ups that began about 2 p.m., school district police said. Lee, who declined to be interviewed, called for help a second time to report that a large group of students was fighting, said Sgt. Steve Masters of the school district police.

“He came out of school and saw this large group of kids and they were polarizing and getting ready to fight,” Masters said. “He was excited. It’s not what normally happens after school.”

Lt. John Dunkin, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said Tuesday’s melee involved between 50 and 100 students and that one officer would be unable to quell such large-scale fighting.

Animosity between Armenian and Latino students had been growing since a fight broke out last Wednesday and students said they expected more problems on the campus. Tensions were high Tuesday and students said rumors were rampant about another fight, said Andrea Bauman, a 16-year-old junior.

“Everyone knew that something was going to go on,” said Bauman, who was trying to drive out of the school parking lot Tuesday when the fight erupted and sent her back into the lot. “There was that tension.”

Two Armenian juniors, whose names were not made public, suffered multiple stab wounds as they left the campus Tuesday afternoon. Police said the two ran to a relative’s house near the school for help. One of the boys was released from Valley Medical Center on Wednesday and the other, who suffered a collapsed lung, remained hospitalized for treatment.

A 16-year-old Latino boy was wounded in the calf in a drive-by shooting three blocks from the campus about 10 minutes after the stabbings. The boy was transferred to County-USC Medical Center for observation and was listed in stable condition Wednesday.

Craig Rhudy of the LAPD said there were no suspects, but said the incidents probably were gang-related. School officials, family members and friends of the victims, however, said the boys were not in a gang.

Meanwhile, the campus was calm Wednesday and police officers surrounded the campus after school to disperse students. Principal Eve Sherman, in a morning address, tried to reassure students, and parents were given notices about the incidents. The school’s Back to School night, already scheduled for tonight, will include a discussion about the fights.

Ethnic tensions have been present on the Van Nuys campus for some time, and Armenian and Latino students have been sent to one-day retreats to discuss diversity and conflict resolution. Sherman said a fight erupted last spring between the two groups, stemming more classroom discussions about different ethnic groups.

But this week, the animosity reached a new height. On Monday, a lunchtime brawl broke out, prompting Sherman to call for more police assistance on the campus.

On Tuesday, administrators also believed there could be potential problems. Lee called school district police about 1 p.m. asking for assistance at dismissal time.

But when the students were let out of school at 2 p.m., Lee was alone to deal with the problems. Sherman and another administrator were driving the perimeter of the school to see if there was trouble.