“The reality of it is, we have a very young person in our community who, unfortunately, was assaulted, and that took a further turn, and they were stabbed,” said Lt. Larry Bowlan.
A 13-year-old boy is in the hospital after being stabbed at least once in an alleyway on Clark Street near Lewis at 8:20 a.m. Thursday.
Lt. Larry Bowlan says the Fresno Police Department responded to a 911 call from a resident who saw the boy struggling on this sidewalk.
He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center and immediately underwent surgery.
As of Thursday evening, the teen is in critical but stable condition.
“We don’t know a lot about why he was in the neighborhood or if he lives here or on his way to school,” said Lt. Bowlan.
Police detained one person of interest.
“They were in the general area when officers were responding, and something caught their attention. We did not have a lot to go off.”
Detectives also searched a home just a few blocks from the scene.
“With the person of interest, they were known to frequent that location, and that is one of the reasons why they went over there to see if anyone else was involved there or not,” said Lt. Bowlan.
Lt. Bowlan says the family cooperated and waited patiently outside.
Alyssa Peters is a close friend of the family. She says they called her with concern after seeing several patrol cars block their home.
“Shocked, I just spoke to her last night when I got off work, and everything was fine, so I came over here and didn’t know what was going on,” said Alyssa Peters.
Peters is thankful her friend and her six children are okay, and she’s also hoping the 13-year-old victim gets well soon.
“I know that there are boys around here all the time; there are a lot of teenage boys,” said Peters, “A 13-year-old boy, that is scary and I hope is alright.”
The stabbing is an ongoing investigation.
Lt. Bowlan says it’s important for parents to be aware of what their children are up to at all times.
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