Upland teen stabbed to death trying to stop fight

UPLAND, Calif. (KABC) -- Friends and family members grieved the loss of an Upland teen who was stabbed to death trying to stop a fight in an alleyway.

Michael Medina, 17, was stabbed to death Saturday evening when he and a friend were returning home from his 4-year-old sister's birthday party.

A 16-year-old suspect confronted the two in an alley behind Medina's apartment, located in the 500 block of East 7th Street. Upland police said Medina was not the intended target of the fight, but his friend was.

"It was a friend, from what I heard, that stabbed him. That's why he was comfortable enough to try to intervene in between both of them," his mother, Rose Campos, said.

Medina was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

On Monday, family and friends set up a memorial filled with candles, flowers and candid photos near the spot where he died.

The high school junior who loved to dance had aspirations of joining the U.S. Air Force after graduation. His family now has to make funeral arrangements for the teen. It's a situation they said they do not have the means to do.

Upland police arrested the 16-year-old suspect and the district attorney may seek to try the man as an adult.