Student stabbed at Aptos High School dies as a result of his injuries

APTOS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- UPDATE 8/31/21 In a news conference on Tuesday night, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office announced that the student stabbed at Aptos High School died as a result of his injuries.

Sheriff Jim Hart says the 17-year-old victim was stabbed multiple times. Law enforcement was dispatched at 2:23 p.m. and authorities arrived within five minutes, at 2:28 p.m. The victim, a senior, was life-flighted to a trauma center where he later died.

"I'm very sad to say that he passed away this evening," said Hart. "As the father of four children, one of them being a young son, I can't imagine the grief that this family is going through tonight. Our thoughts are with the family"

Two juvenile suspects, a freshman and a senior have been booked into juvenile hall and are facing homicide charges.

Hart asked for help in the investigation, saying there is potential cell phone video that could be "critical" in this case. It is believed that the stabbing was recorded.

Aptos High School will be closed for the next two days, the school will reopen on Friday, September 3.

Pajaro Valley United School District Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez says

The sheriff says they are investigating whether or not the incident was gang-related.

UPDATE 8/31/21 5:52 P.M. The lockdown at Aptos High School has been lifted after Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies spent time looking for the suspects involved in the stabbing of a student at the school.

Deputies are still trying to determine what happened leading up to the stabbing of the student but confirm they have two individuals detained.

No formal arrests have been announced at this time.

Parents hoping to pick up students can do so in the following manner:

• If your child rides the bus, they can be picked up at the Cabrillo College Sheriff's Office substation by the Cabrillo softball field.
• If your child rides their bike home, they will be released to ride their bike unless other plans have been arranged with parents/guardians.
• If you wish to pick up your child from the school, you can do so by meeting them at the football field.

Investigators have not released info on the condition of the victim at this time.

UPDATE 8/31/21 5:09 P.M.: The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office confirms at least two people have been detained in relation to a stabbing at Aptos High School that saw one student injured.

Deputies are still trying to determine the group of individual's involvement in the stabbing and have not formally arrested a suspect at this time.

A parent who was trying to pick up her son from school says she was at Aptos High and saw one person being flown out of the school for treatment.

The sheriff's office has not confirmed if the student who was stabbed was flown out of the school.

A press conference is scheduled to take place at the sheriff's office headquarters around 8 p.m.

ORIGINAL STORY:

An Aptos High school student was stabbed at the school, prompting a lockdown Tuesday afternoon.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office confirmed the stabbing of the student, adding that the scene is still active.

Investigators say it happened around 2:20 p.m. and as of 3:30 the lockdown was still in place.

Deputies say they're searching the property for a suspect and believe this is an isolated incident. There's no word on the condition of the victim.

The sheriff's office is asking parents to stage a the Sheriff's Office service center at Cabrillo College next to the Softball field.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which Aptos High is a part of, released this statement saying "The safety of our students is our number one priority. We have been instructed by the sheriffs department to place Aptos high in shelter in place. We have informed parents of the shelter in place via automated call. We will provide updated information as it becomes available to us."

This is a developing story