Student describes witnessing fight with knife on Cupertino high school's campus

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Officials confirm a knife was used in a fight on campus at Cupertino's Homestead High School Monday afternoon. There were no significant injuries, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office. 

Student from outside district 

What we know:

Sheriff's officials said their deputies responded to the report of a disturbance just before 3:30 p.m. School officials said this happened at the end of the school day. The school, part of Fremont Union High School District, is located at 21370 Homestead Road. 

When sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene, they found two students who had been involved in a physical fight, though they did not see anyone with knife-related injuries. 

School officials said they were alerted to the presence of a student, who does not belong to their district, on campus and in possession of a knife. Denae Nurnberg, Homestead High's principal, said the student with the knife was arrested by sheriff's deputies. 

Sheriff's officials confirmed that one of the students, the teen who brought the knife and who did not belong to the district, was detained at the scene.

School responds 

School officials released the following statement after the fight. 

"We greatly appreciate how quickly our law enforcement partners worked to address this potential threat to the safety of our students, staff and the Homestead campus, and to detain the individual involved," the statement read. "We understand that any situation where a weapon is brought onto our campus will naturally cause concern and anxiety. We want to reassure you that there is no longer any threat to the safety of our school or district community." 

The school will be offering mental health support to students and staff who may need it on Tuesday. 

School officials said this was an important reminder that if the community sees something to say something. 

The ages or grades of the students involved in the fight was not disclosed. 

The sheriff's office said the circumstances surrounding this incident remain under investigation. 

Student witness speaks 

Joshua Lim, 18, a senior at Homestead H.S. said he was in the gym lifting weights with a friend. 

"My coach, he like perks up. He hears a shout from outside the door. The coach is inside supervising us, so he runs outside. I'm like, ‘Hmm…maybe I should go follow him, see what’s up,'" said Lim. 

He said they ran to the student parking lot. "There's like a little fist fight going on. Two guys throwing a couple of punches. It gets a little bloody. And my coach…he's like a pretty intimidating guy," said Lim. The student witness said the coach tried to get them to stop fighting. 

"And then one kid…he pulls out a knife and then he tries lunging at the other guy. I think he was going for his shoulder area and he's trying to jab it in him," said Lim. 

Lim said he didn't get a good look, but did not see the knife actually stab anyone. "I'm pretty sure the knife got thrown into the bushes," said Lim. He called it a "wild experience" for a "random Monday afternoon." 

Lim described the weapon as a pocket knife. He said he didn't know the two students who were fighting. He said his coach, Coach Shawn Hook is the head football coach at the school. Lim described him as a "great guy." 

After the police and ambulance arrived, Lim said he headed back to the gym. "You know I gotta get the good pump in, get big." 

Lim said he was doing OK, but is maybe concerned about the person who pulled out a knife on one of his classmates.