Stabbing again leads to lockdown of high school near Santa Barbara

March 10, 2024

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

For the second time in a span of 10 days, a stabbing near Santa Barbara led to the brief lockdown of the San Marcos High School campus.

Shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday, a witness reported an assault in the 4600 block of Chilon Way. Deputies arrived at the scene and found a 17-year-old girl with a non-life threatening knife wound to her leg and a 17-year-old boy with a non-life threatening wound to his arm, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

Responders transported the victims to a hospital in the area. The stabbing suspect fled the scene before deputies arrived.

Because of the proximity to the campus and the seriousness of the crime, deputies requested that San Marcos High School enter a “secure” protocol. Officials directed students to go inside and lock outside doors.

Sheriff’s detectives quickly identified the suspect, a 16-year-old boy. The suspect voluntarily surrendered at the sheriff’s headquarters, where deputies arrested him at 10:12 a.m.

Deputies booked the teen in Santa Maria Juvenile Hall on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon. An investigation into the stabbing remains ongoing.

On Feb. 27, a caller reported a stabbing near the intersection of Hollister Avenue and Turnpike Road, after which the suspect was reportedly seen running toward San Marcos High School. Eventually, deputies arrested a 15-year-old male for attempted murder.