A 16-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly fired a handgun outside of Washburn High School while police were responding to a stabbing in the auditorium a few minutes earlier.

A large number of officers responded Thursday night about 8 p.m. to 911 calls about a large fight in the auditorium of the south Minneapolis school, Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters at the scene.

A teenage boy, also 16, had a stab wound to the lower back that was not life threatening.

Some bystanders pointed out the people suspected of starting the fight to the police who were evacuating the crowd, and the officers pursued them, O'Hara said.

As one officer approached the southwest corner of the school, he heard gunshots and saw a muzzle flash near Busch Terrace and Pleasant Avenue. The shooting suspect, another 16-year-old boy, was arrested and officers recovered a Glock handgun with a 50-round drum magazine, O'Hara said.

Three bullet casings were found at the scene, which was taped off by officers.

The school was having a Somali culture night event, student Teddy Klarkowski said.

"We just saw people running through the street," he said. "We heard gunshots, I wasn't sure how many shots there were."

A 17-year-old boy who was running with the shooting suspect was detained, but O'Hara said it's undetermined if he will face charges. The chief was unsure what or who the suspect was firing at, or if the two who were caught were connected to the fight.

The stabbing suspect remains at large, O'Hara said.