Officers responding to a report of a stabbing at 18 Wheelock Road just after 1:30 a.m. found two women who had been stabbed repeatedly, according to Waltham police. The victims were transported to area hospitals, where they are expected to survive. The suspect allegedly fled the scene prior to police arrival.

Officers responding to a report of a person covered in blood breaking into a car at 23 Highland St. just before 3:30 a.m. determined that this was likely related to the stabbing and the suspect was still in the area, police said.

Just after 5 a.m., officers encountered the 16-year-old male who they determined to be the stabbing suspect, police added. The Waltham resident was taken into custody and will be arraigned at Waltham District Court at an unknown time.

The stabbing occurred across the street from William F. Stanley Elementary School, which Mayor Jeannette McCarthy says opened on time due to the police’s quick action.

“We are trying to make sure that the children are at ease and everything is safe,” she said. “We have school resource officers, we have a police officer in every school, every elementary school, so we’re very happy with that.”

Brandeis University is also near the crime scene but officials say the campus is operating as normal.