Three students taken to hospital, two with stab wounds, after fight at Van Nuys High School

Van Nuys, CA - November 01: Parents wait for news after an altercation injuring several students and campus lockdown at Van Nuys High School on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 in Van Nuys, CA. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Parents wait for news after a brawl injuring several students and subsequent campus lockdown Wednesday at Van Nuys High School. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Three teenage boys were taken to the hospital after a fight at Van Nuys High School on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

A call shortly before 10:55 a.m. reported "two, possibly three victims stabbed," said Melissa Ohana, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.

L.A. Unified Supt. Alberto Carvalho said at a news conference that a brawl at the high school's quad involved 11 students.

One student stabbed two others, who were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, he said. Two other students were injured, and one of those two was also taken to the hospital.

"At this point, three individual students have been detained and are currently being questioned by law enforcement," Carvalho said.

Police were on scene three minutes after the fight began, according to Carvalho.

"The school is calm," he said, and "students are in their classrooms." Lunch was served in the classrooms to prevent students from congregating.

Going forward, "Van Nuys will have the presence of an officer within its school facilities," he added.

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Three patients at the scene on the 6500 block of North Cedros Avenue were identified only as teenage boys, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange.

Read more: Student stabbed outside Grant High in third attack near L.A. campus since June

A recent surge in gang activity in the San Fernando Valley has spilled into public schools including Van Nuys High, Grant High and Polytechnic High, the sources said.

Times staff writer Richard Winton contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.