Teen critically injured after stabbing at DTLA immigration protest
The 17-year-old remains in critical condition.
LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles police arrested a 14-year-old boy for a stabbing at a protest downtown last week, that left another teen in critical condition.
The LAPD announced the arrest Wednesday, saying the boy was booked on suspicion of attempted murder.
What we know:
Local students held protests against ICE and President Donald Trump‘s immigration policies last week, marching across Los Angeles.
The protests continued daily for a full week, and while the demonstrations were mostly peaceful, Friday’s protest ended with violence. The attack happened near City Hall just after 1:30 p.m.
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Paramedics brought the 17-year-old victim to the hospital in critical condition.
Video taken from the protest showed the attack. A person in a black hoodie was seen pulling out a knife and taking a swing at the boy.
What they’re saying:
Esteban Perez shot the video, and said the suspect wasn’t a part of the demonstration.
“He was antagonizing the crowd,” Perez said. “[It’s] very upsetting to see that sort of violence break out.” Perez added that the suspect, seen in a black hoodie, was shouting incendiary comments, and the 17-year-old approached him. That’s when the he pulled out a knife and attacked.
The other side:
Friday’s demonstration marked the sixth consecutive day of protests against ICE. In several protests around Southern California leading up to Friday, activists took over the 101 Freeway and burned the U.S. flag in Oxnard.
Julio Rosas with Blaze Media was also at Friday’s protest and witnessed the attack.
He said he believes the violence at the protests is undermining the movement’s message.
“If you’re really trying to convince people that you don’t want these deportations to happen, why are you allowing these things to happen as a movement,” Rosas asked. “And obviously, it’s not just from today — it’s from multiple days… Maybe the stabbing will be a wake-up cal
