A verbal argument at an event center turned violent early Sunday when a 16-year-old allegedly pulled a pocketknife and stabbed a 15-year-old in the chest, according to police. The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, and the suspect was taken into custody quickly as officers worked to control a large crowd outside the venue.
Tulsa police responded around midnight to the California Event Center at 825 N. Sheridan Road, according to News On 6. KOKH reported that officers were called on a possible-assault report. Investigators said the 16-year-old and the 15-year-old had a history of disputes and crossed paths again at the venue during a late-night party, according to KOKH. That encounter escalated into an argument, and authorities said the older teen pulled out a pocketknife and stabbed the younger boy.
Victim Suffered Severe Chest Wound
Officers found the 15-year-old near the entrance of the event center with a severe knife wound to his upper left chest, per the same News On 6 account. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he received staples to close the wound before being discharged. The teen's condition afterward was not detailed beyond his release from the hospital.
Witnesses at the scene pointed out the suspect in the parking lot, and officers took him into custody there while also managing the large crowd that had gathered, the report notes.
Suspect Booked as a Youthful Offender
The 16-year-old was booked into the Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center and is being charged as a youthful offender with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, per the same account. Oklahoma's juvenile-justice process can involve a preliminary hearing, at the court's own initiative or at the request of the district attorney's office, to determine whether there is prosecutive merit in the charges, according to a federal juvenile-justice reference from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. It remains unclear what specific legal process will unfold in this case.
