A 15-year-old girl was Monday when a trespasser entered her California high school and fatally stabbed her, school officials said.
The teenage student was when a man in his 40s entered Stagg High School in Stockton, California and stabbed her multiple times. The suspe ct, who has not been publicly identified, has since been taken into custody.
The incident took place around 11am Monday, Stockton Police Deputy Chief Eric Kane told reporters.
‘A trespasser entered the front of our school today, stabbed one of our students multiple times,’ Stockton Unified School District Superintendent John Ramirez Jr said at a press conference. ‘Unfortunately, she did not make it. The assailant was taken, was detained, and taken into custody immediately.’
The girl was initially taken to the hospital following the attack, where she later died, according to Ramirez.
It’s still unclear whether the suspect and young girl knew each other, Ramirez said.
‘The school was also put on lockdown to assure the safety of the rest of our students,’ he added. ‘We began to work with local law enforcement immediately and they’ve taken over the investigation.’
The assailant was not a parent of a student at the school, officials said. It’s unclear what the motive behind the attack may have been.
Officials also praised the school’s resource officer for taking quick action in response to the incident and preventing further students from getting hurt.
‘When the incident happened, there were staff immediately there,’ Ramirez said. ‘It had been so quick that they weren’t able to stop it, but they were there immediately.’
Ramirez said that while there were school staff guarding the front entrance to the school, the attacker was able to enter through the gate and reach the student.
Officials said they will be reevaluating current security measures and brief other neighboring schools on the attack.
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