According to a release from the Santa Rose Police Department in California, the incident took place inside a classroom at Montgomery High School slightly after 11 a.m. local time.
Two students were stabbed, but one — identified as 16-year-old Jayden Jess Pienta — sustained at least three stab wounds and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Family members confirmed his death to San Francisco Bay Area CBS network outlet KPIX. A memorial for the teen has been growing outside the school.
Authorities said the fight started when when two teenage boys, both aged 16 and both juniors at the school, entered an art class and confronted a 15-year-old freshman. A teacher and three aids were able to break up the fight, but the three students began fighting again and the freshman brandished a knife — described by authorities as having a blade between four to five inches long — and allegedly stabbed both 16-year-olds.
“One of those students received what appeared to be three stab wounds to his upper body. One student received one stab wound to his left hand,” Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan told KPIX. He added that it appeared there had been “some previous altercations between these students.”
Officers arrived nearly four minutes after receiving the call and began life saving efforts on Peinta, according to the police release.
Both students who had been stabbed were conscious and able to provide initial statements to authorities, KPIX reported. The second victim will survive his injuries.
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old freshman reportedly fled campus after the fight but was later found in a nearby creek bed, according to police.
Authorities said his name will not be released because of his age. He was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County Juvenile Justice Center on three felony charges of homicide, attempted homicide and weapon on a school campus, as well as the misdemeanor of battery on a school campus.
Pienta’s grandmother Cheryl told KPIX of her grandson, “He was a good boy, he was a quiet, gentle boy. He didn’t harm anybody. This is so out of character for something like this to happen to him. I don’t understand.”
His aunt said there was nothing they could have done to stop the incident. “He was a great kid,” she said. “He minded his own business, he did good in school. He was one of the sweetest, most lovable, kindest, cutest, just so bashful and compassionate. He e didn’t deserve any of this, nobody saw this coming. ‘
She added that her nephew’s death was “an absolute tragedy and a loss.”
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