A Torrance school for autistic and neurodivergent children was reeling Monday after a former student walked onto campus and attacked staff members, stabbing three and allegedly leaving behind a bag full of potential explosives before running off, police said.
The attack occurred around 8:30 a.m. at Switzer Learning Center, a private school that serves students from kindergarten to 12th grade, and left two teachers hospitalized with stab wounds and a third staff member injured, officials said. The suspect also allegedly tried to stab a fourth faculty member before he was detained by police.
During the attack, the former student allegedly said he had pipe bombs and appeared to leave them near 208th Street and Amapola Avenue as he was taken into custody, police said. Authorities cleared the area, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad arrived and detonated two devices, rendering them safe, officials said.
The detonation echoed in the morning through the Torrance business park where the school is. Media helicopters hovered overhead and news vans gathered through the afternoon as the situation developed.
Just off campus, parent Cristina Morales, 54, waited for her 18-year-old son, who is autistic. She had been waiting hours for her son to be released from the school.
“I’m nervous,” she said. “My son gets stressed out easily.”
She said she was dropping off another son at Cal State Dominguez Hills when she got a call from her daughter, who said she had received a call from her 18-year-old brother.
“She told me that a student had brought a knife and wanted to stab other students,” she said. “My son ran and hid.”
Morales said her son was in the cafeteria, not far from the main office, when he heard a commotion and saw someone being attacked.
She said that seeing what was happening, her son immediately told seven other students to hide in a storage room and used a chair to block the door. Her son found black trash bags and handed some to the students to use as cover in an attempt to hide, she said.
She said her son and the other students stayed in the storage room until police arrived. They were then taken upstairs where police asked the students questions.
Morales said her son learned that the former student gained access to the school by telling one of the instructors that he needed to pick up paperwork from the main office. Once inside, he attacked that teacher before turning on others, she said.
Morales’ son was release from the school before noon. She said he was shaken by the incident. Switzer Learning Center referred all questions to Torrance police.
A motive for the attack has not been released.
Morales said she was shocked by the stabbing and wondered what prompted the incident. She said she hadn’t heard or seen students ever being mistreated at the school.
On a smoke break, Ernesto Cardiel, 49, said he was driving through the area in the morning when he noticed police blocking off 208th Street and Amapola Avenue.
“I saw a minivan and a police officer talking to a woman sitting on the corner,” he said. “I thought it was a car accident.”
Cardiel raised his eyebrows when he learned about the incident.
“That’s pretty awful,” he said.
The first incarnation of Switzer Learning Center was founded in 1966 in Hermosa Beach, and the school has provided programs for children with learning disabilities. It was founded by Janet Switzer, who built her career on special education and child psychology and relocated to Torrance in the 1970s.
The school is considered one of the first to offer educational programs to students on the autism spectrum, according to its website.