OPA-LOCKA, Fla. – A student was stabbed Tuesday morning outside North Park High School in Opa-locka, authorities said.
Opa-locka police Chief James Dobson told Local 10 News that two students got into an argument outside the school at 3400 NW 135th St. and one of the students, Derion Lamar Howell, 20, stabbed the victim in the stomach with a 4-inch pocket knife.
"Everything started with a normal little fight and it escalated into something bigger," one student, Jose Cabrera, said.
The victim, identified as Al-Yonni Canez Aumeus, 18, was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.
"He was alert, but they felt that he needed to be airlifted for the severities of his injuries," Dobson said.
Local 10 News reporter Liane Morejon spoke briefly to Aumeus' mother at the hospital, who told her: "He's going to be just fine."
Police said the school was placed on lockdown after the incident, but the lockdown has since been lifted.
"We were on lockdown. We really couldn't leave the school," Cabrera said.
Howell was taken into custody after the stabbing and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and bringing a weapon on school grounds. Police said he was also found with a fake ID and stolen credit cards and faces additional charges of unlawful possession of identification and unlawful possession of a stolen credit or debit card.
Authorities said it's unclear what led up to the argument and said this is the first time that something like this has been reported at the school.
School officials sent home a letter to parents explaining what happened, saying school staff and security tried to break up the fight and that Howell will be expelled.