16-year-old fatally stabbed in fight with Herriman near Salt Lake Academy

Police have spoken with several witnesses and are looking for leads.

A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death during a fight Wednesday outside a graduation ceremony at Salt Lake Academy, a high school in Herriman, police said.

Officers have since arrested several witnesses for questioning and are following leads, Deputy Chief Cody Stromberg said Wednesday afternoon. Herriman police investigators had not yet made an arrest or determined a motive for the stabbing, but Stromberg said they had identified most, if not all, of those involved and did not believe that there was a continuing threat to public safety.

Police learned of the stabbing near 14800 S. Beckenbauer Ave., in a neighborhood southeast of the academy, around 12:30 p.m.

When police arrived, they found the 16-year-old stabbed in the chest. Paramedics treated the child, but the teen died at the scene, Stromberg said. Police are investigating his death as a homicide.

Stromberg said investigators believe the teen was in a vehicle in the neighborhood and got into some sort of confrontation on the street, where he was stabbed. He said another child has since shown up at a local hospital for treatment, and police believe the child's injuries may be related to the fight.

It's not yet clear whether the people involved were attending the high school's graduation, Stromberg said, adding that investigators don't believe they lived in the neighborhood. The high school is a tuition-free public school that has a higher than average number of student athletes who continue to compete in college sports.

“We're still trying to piece together the situation to see if they were there for the graduation or if they were just in that neighborhood for some other reason,” Stromberg said. “We do not know yet.”

During the investigation, officers found a car that may have been linked to the fight parked in Riverton, near Foothills Elementary School. Police asked school officials to delay picking up students on Wednesday “out of an abundance of caution.” This order was lifted shortly before 4 p.m.