San Jose teen stabbed to death by alleged gang members for wearing red, court docs reveal
13-year-old among 5 arrested in stabbing death of San Jose teenage boxer at Santana Row
San Jose police said they arrested five people – one as young as 13 years old – who they say are responsible for the stabbing death of a 15-year-old at Santana Row. San Jose's police chief said a 13-year-old from Campbell was the one who "brutally stabbed" the 15-year-old on Valentine's Day.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A San Jose teen who was stabbed to death at Santana Row in San Jose while on a date with his girlfriend on Valentine's Day was targeted for wearing the color red, according to court documents.
Possible motive
What we know:
Documents obtained from the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office reveal a possible motive in the killing of David Gutierrez. Investigators believe the five suspects, ranging in age from 13 to 18, thought David was a member of the Norteños gang.
Victim had no gang ties
What they're saying:
However, Police Chief Paul Joseph stressed at a press conference last week that David had no gang affiliations. The chief said David was completely innocent and had done nothing wrong.
Authorities said a 13-year-old from Campbell was the suspect who fatally stabbed David three times. The suspect was part of a group that night, which included three 16-year-olds from San Jose and an 18-year-old, Emanuel Sanchez-Damian of Campbell, who had attacked David before the deadly stabbing.
The suspects in the killing of David S. Gutierrez, 15, on the night of the fatal stabbing on February 14, 2025.
The suspects are allegedly members of the Varrio Sureno Town (VST) gang, a subset of the Sureños gang. Authorities said the 13-year-old suspect is a seventh-generation member, according to court documents.
Before the suspects encountered David, they had questioned the victim's girlfriend, asking her, "Why he was wearing red so much?" Four of the suspects themselves were wearing red, which investigators believe was a deliberate attempt to disguise their identity by wearing their rival gang's colors.
After David was stabbed three times, including one blow to the heart, according to his family, his girlfriend tried to save him, the documents said.
David died at Valley Medical Center in San Jose.
"This senseless act of violence took the life of a young boy who had no known gang ties, and was simply trying to enjoy an evening out," Chief Joseph said previously.
David was a boxer at Gladiators Gym.
Dig deeper:
Authorities now believe the attacks didn't start at Santana Row.
They say surveillance cameras spotted the teenage suspects earlier that night at the Valley Fair Mall, where they allegedly attacked a man and tried to steal his shoes. One of the suspects is spotted holding a shoe later that night.
Joseph said the identities of the minor suspects in the case are protected under California law.
He said that it's very likely the 13-year-old will only spend eight months in an unlocked ranch facility.
"To be clear, I believe California was right to reform the juvenile justice system," Joseph said. "Locking up young people for long periods of time for minor offenses does more harm than good."
However, the chief added: "While we sought to protect our youth from the long-term harms of incarceration for lesser crimes, we've unintentionally created a system that, in certain severe cases like this, provides virtually no meaningful consequences for the most violent and brutal cases."
The Source: Information for this story comes from court documents from the San Jose Police Department along with previous reporting.