Drunk teen arrested for allegedly threatening Santa Rosa high school student, brandishing knife
Police in Santa Rosa on Monday morning arrested an apparently intoxicated 16-year-old male who allegedly threatened a Montgomery High student on his way to school, brandishing a knife.
Campus trespassing
According to a Santa Rosa Police Department public safety alert, on Monday morning shortly before 8 a.m., officers were dispatched to Montgomery High School to investigate a subject who had been trespassing on the campus. School staff said an unknown male was wearing a ski mask and checking door handles. As Montgomery High students arriving at school to start their day, the suspect asked several of them for their social media information before leaving campus prior to the arrival of officers. He could not be found in the neighborhood around the school, police said.
At around 8:40 a.m., Montgomery High staff called Santa Rosa police dispatch to report the suspect had returned and was escorted off campus by staff. After the suspect was removed from the campus, staff learned he may have been armed with a knife. Staff followed the suspect off campus and kept police apprised with the suspect's location.
Intoxicated teen
An officer who arrived in the area located the 16-year-old juvenile suspect near a grocery store in the 900 block of Village Court. The teen ran from the officer, who was able to detain the suspect after a brief foot pursuit. As the teen was detained by the officer, a half-empty bottle of alcohol in the suspect's possession fell to the ground. The officer immediately noted signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication.
As the officer investigated the incident, he learned the school received a report from a parent that the suspect allegedly attempted to stab a 15-year-old Montgomery High student. The parent went to the school and reported her son was walking to campus in the area of Patio Court and Hahman Drive when he was accosted by the suspect. While the parent reported the suspect attempted to stab her son, the subsequent investigation determined the suspect threatened to stab the victim while brandishing a knife with a blade approximately three inches in length.
Help from Good Samaritan
The victim fled the scene and got the attention of a Good Samaritan driving in the area, who then drove the victim to safety. Police said they determined the suspect did not attempt to stab the victim and noted that they did not believe the suspect and victim knew each other.
The suspect -- who was wearing a ski mask lowered and worn around his neck at the time of his arrest -- was not in possession of a knife when he was taken into custody. Police said the 16-year-old male suspect is not a Montgomery High School student. Authorities said they currently did not know why he chose to go to the Montgomery High campus.
The suspect was booked into Juvenile Hall after receiving medical clearance for his alcohol intoxication. He is facing charges of making criminal threats, brandishing a knife, trespassing on a school campus and public intoxication. Police are working with school staff to review evidence and witness statements to determine if the suspect will face any additional charges for actions he took while on the school campus.
Teen gang violence epidemic
The arrest was the latest in a long string of incidents involving teens in Santa Rosa, with at least two cases centered around attacks at Montgomery High School.
In March 2023, a student at Montgomery High School was stabbed to death on campus during a fight with two other students. The incident led to the school's principal and assistant principal being placed on leave when two more students were arrested for bringing knives onto campus in the weeks that followed the incident.
In September 2023, two Montgomery High students who are brothers were arrested in connection with an off-campus fight and an assault rifle being brought to school.
In December 2023, the Santa Rosa City Schools District temporarily placed a police officer at each of its high schools because of an increase in violent fights on campuses. Those safety resource officers were no longer present after students returned from school following Christmas break.
Last month, Santa Rosa police arrested a student at Montgomery High School Tuesday after she allegedly led a group assault on a 14-year-old girl in a restroom.
That attack came a week after a gang-related stabbing attack by 10 teens on a man in a Santa Rosa park. The increased gang violence among youth in Santa Rosa led to the recent reinstatement of the police department's Gang Crimes Team.