Teens stabbed at Redondo Beach mall are rushed into surgery

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The two teenagers stabbed inside the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach late Saturday night suffered serious wounds and have been rushed into surgery.

The boy and the girl were taken to an area hospital, but their condition was not immediately known, according to the Redondo Beach Police Department.

The stabbing occurred in the public area of the mall’s third level, which is where the movie theaters, a food court and various shops are located.

Late Saturday night police said they had found no witnesses. A mall security officer discovered the injured pair and called for help from police who already were in the mall area. Before the boy passed out, he provided a general description of the suspect, said Sgt. David Christian.

Many stores were in the process of closing as the investigation began, and officers did not order a lockdown, but they did stop vehicles as they left. The attacker, however, is still at large.

‘We did not have a lot to go on,’ Christian said. ‘We basically blocked all the exits for the parking area. We just stopped every car that went by and looked inside with a flashlight and talked to the people inside. It was a lot of cars.’

Redondo Beach police were assisted by police from Torrance, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach.

A manager at the movie complex, which was showing such holiday releases as ‘Les Miserables,’ ‘Jack Reacher’ and ‘Django Unchained,’ told The Times that the mall administration had directed her to close down the theaters.

‘We don’t know anything about it,’ said the woman, who did not give her name. ‘I don’t know what happened. The mall said you need to close down.’

Christian said he was not aware of any order from police to close the cinemas, but he said he thought that, after the incident, the theaters were allowing no further admissions.

Investigators are reviewing mall surveillance video for possible stills or video that might assist their probe. Anyone with information is asked to call the Redondo Beach Police Tip line at (310) 937-6685, or send a text message to (310) 339-2362. ALSO:

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-- Howard Blume