Two Arrested In Fatal Shooting, Stabbing Of Novato High School Students
NOVATO (CBS SF) -– Two people have been arrested in the fatal shooting of a Novato High School student and the injuring of another student following raids on Novato residences Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
Around 3:00 p.m. Thursday, Marin County sheriff's deputies and officers from local police agencies staged a tactical raid at Roland Way and Novato Boulevard in a home located just a few blocks from Novato High School.
SWAT officers stormed the home with assault rifles at the ready. A 17-year-old male was led from the home, shirtless and put into a police car.
"We have detained one person who was in the house," Marin County Sheriff's Office Lt. Doug Pittman told KCBS. "He is one of the three suspects we were searching for. I can't tell you what his exact role was."
About an hour and 20 minutes later, the Marin County Sheriff's Office tweeted a second suspect was in custody following another tactical raid on a residence on Leafwood Drive between Rowland Boulevard and Sunset Parkway. Novato Police had urged people to stay clear of the area and shelter in place.
The identities of the two suspects arrested were not immediately known.
At a Thursday morning news conference, Pittman confirmed that the two victims in Wednesday's shooting-stabbing were students at Novato High School.
Their names and ages have not been released. Pittman said one student was fatally shot while another is in stable condition at a hospital after being shot and stabbed in Ignacio Valley Open Space Preserve.
"While the details of the incident are still developing, we do know that Novato High School students were involved in a shooting in Novato," principal Matt Baldwin and Superintendent Jim Hogeboom wrote in a letter to parents Wednesday night.
"To ensure the safety of students and staff, and due to the uncertainty surrounding this situation, we are closing Novato High School on Thursday," the letter went on to say.
Three suspects were identified in the shooting-stabbing and were the focus of an intense manhunt.
It was "an incident involving a small number of people" and "there is no further threat to the community at this point," Pittman said.
Marin County Sheriff's Office deputies and Novato Police Department officers responded around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday to the end of Fairway Drive and located one of the shooting victims. The victim had also been stabbed and was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
A second shooting victim was later located nearby, according to the sheriff's office. The second victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The suspects were described as three Hispanic males, according to the sheriff's office.
School will resume on Tuesday, following a staff development on Friday and the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, according to a notice on the school website.
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