Student stabs and injures another student at a Santa Rosa high school

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A high school in Santa Rosa was locked down after one student stabbed another, officials say. The suspected stabber is in custody.  

What we know:

The incident happened inside a classroom at Elsie Allen High School on Tuesday afternoon, police confirmed. 

Dispatch told police a 15-year-old male student had been stabbed, possibly multiple times. That student was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. 

Police were also told another 15-year-old male student was detained in an administrative office and was suspected of the stabbing. 

The extent of the student victim's injuries are not clear. The victim underwent surgery, remains in the hospital and is expected to survive. 

Police said class was in session when a fight broke out between the two boys. The suspect produced a black folding knife and then proceeded to stab the victim at least three times in the upper torso. 

A staff member inside the classroom and a teacher from a neighboring classroom broke up the fight. Police said 14 students witnessed the stabbing. 

Upon learning of the incident, police said school administrators quickly locked down the campus as the stabbing victim was initially cared for by school personnel in the main office. 

Police in Santa Rosa worked with parents to release students. Students could be seen walking off campus to safety in a single line, led by officers.  

"Our staff responded quickly to ensure the safety of the individuals involved and the students on campus," Santa Rosa City School District spokesperson James Hodgeman said.  

911 call

At 2:58 p.m., police said they received a 911 call of a stabbing on campus. The school is located at 599 Bellevue Avenue. 

KTVU got word of the incident just before 4 p.m. 

SkyFOX flew over the school for a better vantage point of the incident. 

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Patricia Seffens said the school was on lockdown and that once the scene was secured, officers coordinated with school staff to release students from classes in an organized fashion to reunite students with their parents. 

The investigation

School officials released students one class at a time to either be reunited with family or to board school buses that were already on campus for their normal pickup time. 

What led up to the fight remains under police investigation. The relationship between the two students involved in the fight is being looked into. Police do not believe this to be a gang-related incident. 

Sgt. Seffens said the suspect remains in police custody and was booked into juvenile hall for attempted murder and possession of a weapon on school grounds. 

The names of the students involved will not be released because they are minors, police said. 

There were no other victims or suspects connected to this stabbing, police said. 

What's next:

According to the Santa Rosa City School District, class will be in session on Wednesday. School officials said counseling services will be available to the students. 

This same school was in the news in August when there was another stabbing on campus. A 14-year-old student stabbed a 13-year-old student. The victim survived.

In 2020, a school resource officer program at the school was eliminated. The police department said they are working with the city council and school district to bring those officers back into the schools. But no timeline was available for when that might happen. 

We asked the school district spokesperson what measures are being taken to ensure safety on campus. Nothing specific was mentioned. 

"School safety takes a community. It takes all of us working together to ensure the safety of our students and our staff. No parent should ever have to worry about the safety of their son or their daughter," said Hodgeman. 

Santa RosaNews