Isla Vista Foot Patrol and UCSB Police Department officers are actively searching for two suspects in connection with a stabbing incident that occurred just after midnight Saturday morning on the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive, according to the Santa Barbara County Sherriff’s Office.

Sherriff’s Office spokesperson Kelly Hoover said the incident began with a verbal altercation between a group of about four people and two males that escalated when one victim was stabbed in the back and another was hit in the head with a bottle.

Officers responded to 6579 Del Playa at approximately 12:20 a.m. and were unable to locate any of the four original suspects — three males and one female — after searching the area extensively, Hoover said. The suspects were last seen fleeing on foot eastbound on Del Playa.

Hoover said both victims were transported to a local hospital, and the stabbing victim sustained serious injuries. Neither of the victims’ names or current conditions had been released as of Sunday night.

An emergency notification was sent out to the campus community shortly after officers arrived on the scene. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the UCSB Police Department at (805) 893-3446 or leave an anonymous tip on the Sherriff’s Office’s website.

[Update (3:30 p.m.): The two victims were Santa Barbara City College students, according to Hoover.]

A version of this article appeared on page 1 of October 7, 2013’s print edition of The Daily Nexus.

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