Student, 14, Stabbed Near School

A 14-year-old Van Nuys Middle School student stabbed another 14-year-old student near the school Wednesday afternoon, and the victim was hospitalized in extremely critical condition, authorities said.

Witnesses said the attacker ran up behind the victim as he walked home from school and stabbed him once in the leg at the intersection of Erwin Street and Cedros Avenue in Van Nuys, said Los Angeles Police Detective John Edwards.

The witnesses, some of them other students, recognized the attacker and told police his name, said Edwards. Police waited for him at his home where he walked up “with blood on him,” said Edwards. The boy tried to flee, but was caught after a brief foot chase, police said.

The boy later confessed to the stabbing, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held at San Fernando Valley Juvenile Hall, Edwards said.

The victim, who police said was a gang member, underwent surgery at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, where he was in critical condition because of extreme blood loss, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Los Angeles Unified School District spokesman Bill Rivera said additional police will patrol the school and the area around the Van Nuys campus today “just to make sure it doesn’t escalate.”

The district also will provide a crisis team of counselors, if the principal requests them, Rivera said.