Student hospitalized after being stabbed at Southern California middle school

A student who was reportedly standing up to a bully was hospitalized after being stabbed at a middle school in San Bernardino County.

Officers responded to Frisbie Middle School in Rialto on reports of two students fighting during a physical education class.

Cellphone video captured the chaotic scene inside a locker room as two male students lunged at each other, while one boy held what appeared to be a knife.

The fight escalated and one of the boys was stabbed. Rialto Police arrived on the scene and arrested the suspected stabber while the injured student was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The mother of the injured boy, Sandra Aguilar, told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson that her son was defending another child from being bullied when he was stabbed.

“I’m so upset because [the bullying] has been going on for three years since my kid has been at this school,” Aguilar said in tears.

Her son, identified only as an 8th grader, was treated at the hospital for stab wounds on his right arm and required stitches.

“[The suspect student] was bothering another little kid so my son tried to tell him to leave him alone,” Aguilar said. “He was not doing anything to him. He just told him, ‘Who are you? I don’t care. Just leave him alone.’ So they get into an argument. They start fighting each other and you can see in the video how he gets a knife from his pocket and [attacks] my son.”

Aguilar said that had her son not moved his head out of the way from the oncoming knife, his injuries would have been much worse.

All parents with children at the school received a notification informing them there was “police presence on campus due to an earlier incident,” however it did not mention that a student was assaulted and hospitalized.

Many worried parents arrived at the school to remove their children from campus following the notification.

“This is where I send my daughter for her to be safe, to get an education,” said a worried parent. “Now I’m concerned about other children harming my child. It’s just scary.”

Aguilar said she’s frustrated over ongoing bullying issues that she said have not been addressed by school administrators.

About two years ago, Aguilar said her son was repeatedly bullied while in the 6th grade. The alleged perpetrator was eventually expelled but only after filing multiple complaints with school officials, she said.

The mother said she wants these issues addressed so no other child or parent is forced to experience what she’s going through.

“I just want everyone to know [about this situation] because this is unfair what the district and the school have done to this point,” Aguilar said. “And believe me, I’ve been to the district so many times.”

The Rialto Unified School District provided a statement to KTLA saying:

“Earlier this morning there was police presence at Frisbie Middle School campus where a student brandished a knife and assaulted another student. Due to the injury, the paramedics were called. Additionally, parents and students were notified and updated twice about this incident. The safety of our students in staff remain our top priority. We will continue to strengthen communication with parents to make sure that campus safety remains a shared responsibility. Frisbie Middle School continues to be a thriving learning environment for all students. We appreciate the support of our families.”

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