LA PALMA : 2 Teen-Agers Stabbed as Party Turns Violent

Two 18-year-olds were stabbed when a noisy weekend birthday party of about 200 people turned violent, police said Monday.

Brian Lee Stewart of Cypress and Robert Wills Barrios of Buena Park were recovering Monday from stab wounds to their shoulders. Investigators interviewed more than two dozen party-goers in search of the assailants.

“We intend to make some arrests,” La Palma Police Capt. Vince Giampa said. “We just don’t know who it’s going to be, or when. An awful lot of people were at that party.”

Police were first called to the 7900 block of Camden Circle at 8:30 p.m. Saturday after neighbors complained about live music, Giampa said. Officers talked to the 19-year-old resident of the house, who was celebrating her birthday while her parents were out of town, and warned her they would shut the party down if there were further complaints.

The 19-year-old later called police to help break up the gathering.

By 12:10 a.m., guests--invited and uninvited--poured onto neighboring lawns and into the normally placid cul-de-sac. Giampa said numerous fights had broken out, and two party-goers had been stabbed.

Guests ranged in age from 17 to 22, and most were drinking alcohol, Giampa said. Police arrived to find many revelers leaving the area as a few guests tended the stab victims inside. The assailants had fled.

Stewart and Barrios were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange. Stewart was in good condition Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Barrios was released Sunday after undergoing surgery to his right shoulder, police said.

When officers visited the home the first time, “things looked very much under control,” Giampa said.

“Our guys noticed nothing other than there was a band there. Had we noticed anything that was out of the ordinary, like the kids drinking alcohol, we would have taken action right then before it got any worse.”