The Los Angeles Police Department released video Tuesday of the moments leading up to a fatal stabbing of a student near Woodrow Wilson High School last week and asked the public for help in identifying the suspect.
The incident was reported around 3:55 p.m. Friday in the 4500 block of Valley Boulevard in El Sereno, about half a mile from the Woodrow Wilson campus.
Footage shows the suspect walking across a parking lot to a sidewalk. As the suspect exits the parking lot, he can be seen pulling out a large knife, holding it in both hands and looking at a spot just out of frame, after which the footage ends.
The man stabbed a 17-year-old boy, who died at the scene, police said.
The victim was identified on the Los Angeles County Coroner’s website as Xavier Chavarin. The teen was described by his mother, as well as an LA city councilman, as a straight-A student, a loving son, and a “great big brother.”
Police believe the attacker stabbed a 33-year-old man in the 5400 block of Valley Boulevard later that night.
The man approached the victim and stabbed him several times without speaking, police officials said in a press release. The victim survived the attack.
The suspect is described as a man with long, wavy black hair and a long beard and can be seen in the video wearing a black jacket, black T-shirt and black pants. The suspect’s vehicle was described as a black Honda CR-V made between 1996 and 2001.
Laura Frias, Xavier’s mother, told KNBC-TV that her son was waiting for her outside a restaurant when he was stabbed, the channel reports.
He was a straight A student who would graduate in a few months, KNBC said.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council adjourned in memory of Xavier.
Councilman Kevin de León, whose district includes El Sereno, said the teen had a promising future and was a “great big brother” and a great son.
“He loved playing Lego. He loved to play with his Xbox. He liked fast cars and he liked drawing,” De León said.
De León told his colleagues that the Woodrow Wilson High School community was devastated.
Xavier’s mother graduated from the school and was pregnant with Xavier when she received her diploma, De León said.
“I am saddened to report the recent off-campus death of one of our students,” Woodrow Wilson principal Gregorio Verbera said in a message to students and parents on Sunday. “On behalf of our entire school community, I would like to express my deepest condolences to those affected by this loss, including the student’s family, friends and teachers.”
Anyone with information on the suspect is advised to call LAPD detectives at (213) 996-4116.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.
