Former Student Allegedly Stabs 3 Employees and Plants 2 Pipe Bombs at Calif. School: Police By Chris Spargo

A private school for neurodiverse children and teens was the site of a violent incident early Monday morning.

Three employees were stabbed and two pipe bombs planted at the Switzer Learning Center, a school that serves grades K-12 in Torrance, Calif., police say.

The Torrance Police Department apprehended the suspect in the case and identified the individual as a former student at the school.

Officials said the student’s motives are still unclear and that the person remains in custody.

“At approximately 0815 today, a former student allegedly stabbed a total of three staff members and attempted to stab a fourth before fleeing the scene. Two of the victims were quickly transported to Harbor General Hospital and are currently receiving treatment for non-life-threatening injuries,” said TPD Public Information Officer Captain F. Ahmad in a statement.

The third victim was treated on scene by members of the Torrance Fire Department, according to Ahmad.

Police were able to apprehend the student after arriving at the scene, but Ahmad said they faced an entirely new challenge when the suspect informed them they had planted two pipe bombs.

Members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad were then called to the scene and were able to successfully locate and detonate the incendiary devices without any further incident.

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Christina Morales told the Los Angeles Times that her 18-year-old son who attends the school had told her that the suspect gained access by informing an instructor they needed to pick up some paperwork from the main office.

She told the Times that her son alleged that the suspect then stabbed that instructor.

Morales and her son were reunited at noon, the Times reported, and a few hours later, the area was declared safe by police.

Police are not releasing the name, age or sex of the former student at this time, and the Switzer Learning Center referred all questions to the TPD.