Man arrested after stabbing student in Bowie High School parking lot, police say

Man accused of stabbing student in Bowie High School parking lot

A man is in custody after police say he stabbed a student at Bowie High School Wednesday afternoon. Investigators say it was the result of an ongoing dispute between the two. The incident was caught on camera and at this time, authorities say at this time, the suspect will remain in custody.

BOWIE, Md. - A man is in custody after police say he stabbed a student at Bowie High School Wednesday afternoon. Investigators say it was the result of an ongoing dispute between the two.

The incident was caught on camera and at this time, authorities say the suspect will remain in custody.

What we know:

According to court documents, the Bowie High School student was stabbed in the lower left side of his back during this fight on May 28. He was taken to the hospital with what police said were non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators say 21-year-old Jorge Zamudio Lozano, Jr., seen wearing a green Philadelphia Eagles jersey at the time of the incident, had two weapons with him — a pocket knife and a fixed-blade knife.

They say Zamudio Lozano told them, "I did it. I stabbed him twice." Zamudio Lozano also reportedly told police the fight was the result of an ongoing dispute with the victim that started with a traffic-related incident more than a week ago.

The suspect has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault and possession of a dangerous deadly weapon on school property. He's being held in jail pending a bond hearing scheduled for next week as it was postponed Thursday.

"We're seeing throughout the region — not only here in Prince George’s County, but throughout the region — the challenges that we're having with our youth today," Bowie Police Chief Dwayne Preston said. "None of us want to see that. We want to engage our youth in positive situations. We don't want the encounters to be negative or after the fact where enforcement action has to occur."

Preston says the suspect is a former Bowie High School student who went to the school on Wednesday to pick somebody up after classes let out.

FOX 5 stopped by Zamudio Lozano's home Thursday afternoon. Nobody was there.

Dig deeper:

Last month, a student was stabbed inside a high school in Fairfax County. The school put up metal detectors the very next day. There are metal detectors at Bowie High School but they couldn't prevent what happened here after school yesterday.

Extra Bowie Police officers were on hand at Bowie High School Thursday. They routinely have two school resource officers assigned to the high school, which has about 1,000 students.

Students speak out:

Many students were left shaken by the incident, happening in broad daylight in their school parking lot.

"They wait until incidents happen for them to come out and I just feel like if they were here before these things happen and took the proper precautions, certain things would not happen of this magnitude," one Bowie High School student, Jayden, told FOX 5. "I don't know. I just feel like Bowie needs to do some more different things and my heart goes out to the victim and the person who stabbed the guy because from what I saw, he was defending himself. So I hope he doesn't get into too much trouble."

Some say they now feel unsafe as crime continues to plague their school and community.

"I don't feel safe at all. People's belongings get taken every other week here at Bowie High School. It's ridiculous. This is supposed to be a safe place to live. A lot of people's parents pay thousands of dollars in property taxes for their kids to come to school for it to be a safe environment. Bowie is supposed to be the place to be safe and it doesn't feel like that anymore," said Jayden.

Law enforcement is asking for the help and support of parents as they work to improve security and reduce youth violence within schools and across the area.

"What I ask is for parents to engage with their children and speak to them. Be aware of what's going on and talk to them. I mean the first and foremost responsibility is for the parents to raise their children and that's what we expect. We don't want them to have encounters with us after the fact, because of something that could've been prevented," Chief Preston said.

Word-for-word:

Read the full letter from Bowie High School Principal Joe Kautzer below:

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I am writing to inform you about a serious incident today at Bowie High School. A student was stabbed during an altercation in the school parking lot at dismissal and taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No other students or staff were injured during the incident.

The safety of our students is our top priority. Please assist in our efforts to maintain a safe learning environment by discussing with your child acceptable behaviors that support a positive school climate. Please encourage your child to always immediately report the sighting of any weapon or suspicious individuals/objects on school grounds to a staff member or trusted adult.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact 301-805-2600 or Joseph.Kautzer@pgcps.org.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Brief