LAPD issues tactical alert after two stabbings and unruly crowd in South LA

The Los Angeles Police Department issued a citywide tactical alert on Saturday following reports of two separate stabbings in South Los Angeles, according to CBS News Los Angeles and nbclosangeles.com. The first stabbing occurred near Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard around 2:45 p.m., with several people taken to hospitals in unknown condition.

A second stabbing was reported hours later at approximately 6:10 p.m. in the 4200 block of South Crenshaw Boulevard. The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed one person was transported to a nearby hospital, but their condition has not been disclosed.

During this time, police also responded to an unruly crowd of up to 200 people moving through downtown streets, as reported by CBS News Los Angeles. The crowd scattered at one point and was seen running through a McDonald's parking lot in Leimert Park around 6:40 p.m. Police have not confirmed a connection between the crowd and the stabbings or other local events happening that day.

Saturday was a busy day in Los Angeles, with thousands attending the 21st annual Taste of Soul Festival on Crenshaw Boulevard celebrating Black culture and history, and hundreds gathering downtown for a "No Kings" demonstration encouraging voter participation ahead of the midterm elections. LAPD has not confirmed any links between these events and the incidents.

The tactical alert was deactivated at 8:30 p.m., and no arrests related to the crowd or stabbings have been reported so far by the LAPD.