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DUCHESNE — One student was injured and another was taken into custody Wednesday after a fight at Duchesne High School escalated to a stabbing, authorities said.
The two students began fighting about 10 a.m. on the school's football field, according to Duchesne County Sheriff's Chief Deputy David Boren.
"This altercation continued into the locker room, where the 17-year-old student was stabbed," Boren said.
The injured student made it back outside into a school parking lot, where he was found by deputies responding to a 911 call from the school. An 18-year-old student was taken into custody in connection with the stabbing, Boren said.
The incident briefly put both Duchesne High and nearby Duchesne Elementary School on lockdown until investigators determined that students were no longer in danger.
The injured student, who was stabbed multiple times, was taken by ambulance to Uintah Basin Medical Center and then flown to a Salt Lake hospital with life-threatening injuries, Boren said. The boy was expected to undergo surgery Wednesday night.
"We believe he will survive," Boren said.
Detectives spent Wednesday afternoon processing the crime scene and were expected to serve several search warrants in connection with the case Wednesday night. Based on preliminary interviews and evidence collected, they do not believe the attack was premeditated, Boren said.
"There is nothing to indicate that this was planned," he said.
Authorities are not discussing a possible motive for the incident; however, claims of bullying incidents at the high school began surfacing on social media after the attack was reported. Neither Boren nor Bruce Guymon, director of student services for the Duchesne County School District, would comment on those claims.
"I don't want to speculate as to what might have caused the incident," Guymon said. "At this point, there's an ongoing investigation. We'll leave it to law enforcement to do their investigation and follow up with our internal school investigation."
The 18-year-old student, whose name has not been released, has had "some minor dealings" with police in the past "but nothing of significance," Boren said. He remained in police custody Wednesday night and could be held for up to 72 hours without formal charges being filed, the chief deputy said.
