Student stabbed by another student inside Jeremiah Burke High School in Dorchester, police say

A Jeremiah E. Burke High School employee walked past the front doors of the school building on Monday.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff

An 18-year-old student was stabbed by another student inside Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester Monday morning, police said.

Boston police spokesman Sergeant Detective John Boyle said the student was stabbed multiple times in the back and shoulder around 11 a.m. The student was taken to the hospital, he said.

The alleged assailant fled the school, said Boyle, who called the attack an “isolated incident.” No arrests have been made.

Max Baker, a spokesman for the Boston Public Schools, said the student who was stabbed was not seriously hurt.

“The student is OK,” Baker said. As of Monday afternoon, Baker could not say what type of weapon was used in the attack or if the perpetrator had been found.

“It’s a fluid situation,” Baker said.

In a statement, school officials thanked staff and public safety personnel who responded to the stabbing.

“The safety and security of our students and staff are the top priority for Boston Public Schools,” officials said. “Violence has no place in our school communities.”

Police and school officials are investigating, the statement said

“Throughout the year, we do safety drills to ensure our students and staff are prepared for incidents like this,” officials said. “We also have safety officers who work in the building who are there as a layer of protection. Counselors and other support resources have been deployed to the school for any staff or students who may need the support.”

It was almost lunchtime for senior Erick Martinez, 17, when the stabbing happened. He was in his junior ROTC classroom, waiting to be dismissed. Juniors and seniors are normally allowed to eat off campus, but on Monday they were told to stay inside, he said.

“They didn’t let us go out. They locked every single door,” he said. “I had to go downstairs to the cafeteria with the little kids.”

“I was panicking,” he continued. “I was like, ‘wow, this is crazy.’”

Martinez said he later “saw blood in the hallway” on the second floor.

Fights break out at Burke every now and then, he said, but they “don’t escalate to this level.”

Dede Diggs picked up her son, Cayen, from school as soon she heard about the stabbing. Her daughter had seen the news on Facebook and immediately alerted her, she said. She tried calling Cayden but he didn’t answer.

“It was very scary,” Diggs said, speaking to a group of reporters in front of the high school. “It just made me wonder: Was it my kid? Because I didn’t hear anything.”

Cayen, 15, said he had just walked into his science classroom on the second floor when the stabbing occurred. When he looked out into the hallway during the class change, he saw a crowd hurrying up the stairs. Later, an announcement over the intercom told students to use only the Number 6 stairwell.

“When I went to my class, I heard that it was just a stabbing. Some kid was chasing another kid and stabbed them,” Cayen said. “I’m not sure what they used.”

Diggs said she’ll probably keep Cayen home from school over the next day or two.

“I’ve known of things happening here in the past, but I thought the school had improved,” Diggs said. “So it is a little shocking.”

As he waited for school to let out, Anthony Mojica said he had been worried about sending his stepdaughter, a freshman, to Burke.

“I told my lady at home this might not be the best school for her,” he said. “You got kids that maybe want to come here to learn and you got kids being more of a bad influence.”

“I’m pretty upset,” he added. “Not just my own kid could have got hurt today. Multiple kids could have got hurt. It could have started a riot.”

Mike Bello of the Globe staff contributed to this story.