Milpitas stabbing, search for rampage suspect was steps from high school graduation ceremony

MILPITAS -- When police officers in Milpitas scrambled to respond to another deadly stabbing Thursday amid an ongoing violent crime spree in San Jose, they were faced with the prospect of a killer on the loose just steps away from a packed high school graduation ceremony. 

Suspect Kevin Parkourana, 31, was arrested Thursday afternoon following a fatal stabbing outside a Smart and Final store on Jacklin Road in Milpitas and was linked to a series of stabbings and vehicle collisions with pedestrians in San Jose. Three people were killed and five others injured.

Milpitas Police Chief Jared Hernandez said at a Friday press conference the fatal attack was less than 100 yards away from the Milpitas High School graduation event at the school's stadium field.

"So securing the area ensuring the safety of the attendees at that graduation became a priority for us," said Milpitas Police Chief Jared Hernandez during the press conference. "We moved officers to perimeter positions to ensure people inside the venue were protected and we placed plainclothes detectives inside of that ceremony. "

Hernandez said his officers collaborated with the San Jose Police Department to come up with the response to finding the suspect and while securing the high school stadium filled with hundreds of people.

"And so we had the tough choice. Do we end the ceremony which could create additional issues? Or do we provide some type of site security the best that we can?" said Hernandez. "So we elected to provide site security, so that way, we knew where all the pedestrians were. We thought that that was the best approach to promoting public safety."

Hernandez said the solution was to both surround the ceremony with officers and deploy plainclothes officers inside the event.

"At that time, we had a photo [of the suspect]," said Hernandez. "So we knew who we were looking for at least we didn't know the identity, but we knew what they looked like. So we thought that was the best approach."