A 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the chest by another student during lunchtime at Central Valley High School yesterday afternoon.
The assailant, a 16-year-old boy, was taken into custody by Ceres Police Department officers.
"We've never had anything like this happen in Ceres before," CUSD Assistant Superintendent Jay Simmonds said. "It's totally uncharacteristic for this community. I'm not sure what we could have done differently to stop it."
The two students got into an altercation at 12:30 p.m. between the E Building and gymnasium.
The victim suffered a non-life-threatening wound. He was rushed to Doctor's Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.
The aggressor gave up and was arrested.
"At this point, we don't know why they were fighting or if it was gang-related," Simmonds said. "We're still investigating. At no time were any other kids at risk. We notified parents immediately about the incident."
The school was not locked down due to the quick apprehension of the attacker by school officials. Students were asked to remain in their classrooms until police investigators canvassed the crime scene for any potential physical evidence. The school resumed its normal activity shortly after the incident. The Ceres Unified School District has made arrangements for counseling services to be available to students and their families.
Ceres Police Detectives have since learned the responsible made a conscious decision last night to stab someone in order to gain notoriety in his gang. The victim was targeted by the responsible due to his connection to a rival criminal street gang.
The assailant, a 16-year-old boy, was taken into custody by Ceres Police Department officers.
"We've never had anything like this happen in Ceres before," CUSD Assistant Superintendent Jay Simmonds said. "It's totally uncharacteristic for this community. I'm not sure what we could have done differently to stop it."
The two students got into an altercation at 12:30 p.m. between the E Building and gymnasium.
The victim suffered a non-life-threatening wound. He was rushed to Doctor's Medical Center, where he underwent surgery.
The aggressor gave up and was arrested.
"At this point, we don't know why they were fighting or if it was gang-related," Simmonds said. "We're still investigating. At no time were any other kids at risk. We notified parents immediately about the incident."
The school was not locked down due to the quick apprehension of the attacker by school officials. Students were asked to remain in their classrooms until police investigators canvassed the crime scene for any potential physical evidence. The school resumed its normal activity shortly after the incident. The Ceres Unified School District has made arrangements for counseling services to be available to students and their families.
Ceres Police Detectives have since learned the responsible made a conscious decision last night to stab someone in order to gain notoriety in his gang. The victim was targeted by the responsible due to his connection to a rival criminal street gang.
