SANTA ROSA, Calif. A 16-year-old student involved in a fight at a Northern California high school was fatally stabbed Wednesday inside a classroom full of students, authorities said.. SANTA ROSA - A memorial outside Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa grew Wednesday evening as family and friends mourned the loss of a teenage boy who was fatally stabbed during a fight in. Any threats to student and staff safety are treated very seriously.' Police said the fight resumed moments later, when the freshman pulled out a folding knife with a 4- to 5-inch blade and stabbed the older boy three times in the upper torso. The moves come at a tumultuous time for the Montgomery High, where student, parent and teacher concerns about school safety have reverberated in public calls for action since 16-year-old Jayden Pienta was killed March 1 in a classroom stabbing on the Hahman Drive campus. There was some action taken on the part of the victim that did mitigate the actions by the minor that we charged, but that we concluded did not rise to the level of complete self defense, he said. Gonzalezs mother, Amy Gonzalez, said Thursdays prayer event was helpful to her son because it allowed him to talk about what had happened. He did not offer any explanation, if given by the students, on why they were carrying the knives. On Twitter @alana_minkler. THE PRESS DEMOCRAT. Please email your name and contact information to us at info@pressdemocrat.com. Do you have questions you want answered? Students are asking why school officials are not around to address the safety issues. The 15-year-old student was arrested within 40 minutes on suspicion of homicide and attempted homicide, as well as weapons charges. The freshman student produced a knife and the two students who entered the classroom were stabbed. Santa Rosa City Schools officials, meanwhile, have faced an outpouring of anger, frustration and fear from students, parents and teachers over reports of campus violence. On Twitter @pressreno. It also appears to confirm the account shared by Santa Rosa Police officials at a Wednesday news conference. THE PRESS DEMOCRAT / AP People gather outside the main office after students were released for the day following a fight at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, Calif., Wednesday, March. It takes people away from their jobs in the school office, from their jobs keeping the school safe.. UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: Santa Rosa Schools superintendent announced in an email Sunday to the Montgomery community that the schools principal and assistant principal have been placed on leave in the wake of the fatal stabbing. Our goal is to put this resource and service on the campus for increased security and to help us assess needs and optimal strategies for moving forward, Trunnell said in her statement Sunday. In her statement Sunday, Trunnell said she hoped Fongs return to the Montgomery campus would bring stability to the struggling campus, where student outcry over crumbling facilities predated the fatal stabbing. Santa Rosas middle and high schools do not have campus-based officers following a controversial decision by the district school board in 2020 not to renew the suspended Santa Rosa police program. Pulido was charged Monday in open Sonoma County Juvenile Court with voluntary manslaughter and weapons charges related to bringing a knife on campus. 3:25 p.m.: Police chief, Santa Rosa Mayor Natalie Rogers and school officials attending the press conference abruptly left the scene. Having officers on campus all day is a start, she said. Please email your name and contact information to us at info@pressdemocrat.com. For the latest story, click here. He was taken into custody without incident. COLIN ATAGI THE PRESS DEMOCRAT March 3, 2023 A suspect and two victims involved in the fatal stabbing Wednesday morning at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa were part of an earlier. I nor anyone may speak with the public regarding an employment matter, as we have strict obligations to honor employee privacy rights, she said in an email. Ahlborn became assistant principal at Montgomery in 2021, having been a teacher at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa for 11 years. Pulido remains in custody at the countys juvenile justice facility and will next appear in court on Friday for a detention hearing where a judge will determine whether to release him. Meanwhile, on Monday, Santa Rosa police officials announced that two students who had been sent home by school administrators Friday after knives were found in their possession have been arrested on weapons offenses. And I think you can definitely feel it on campus.. The campus assignment is the first for a Santa Rosa officer on one of the citys middle or high schools since the school board opted to discontinue the campus officer program in 2020 amid national upheaval stemming from cases of police violence. Prosecutors said evidence appears to show Pulido acted at least partly in self-defense. Student, 16, dies in stabbing at Montgomery High School, 2nd student They need something to follow, he said. The world is filled with stories that inspire compassion, wonder, laughs and even tears. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. She indicated the district will continue to work with the police department to create long-term safety strategies. The issue took up the lions share of what was an otherwise brief court appearance that was attended by about 25 of Pulidos friends and family, and six of Pientas. At one point he heard the bloodied student, Jayden Jess Pienta, speak with his father on the phone. Police late Wednesday identified the deceased victim as Jayden Jess Pienta, 16, of Santa Rosa. Instead, in what was more of a routine court appearance, officials discussed whether students and school staff are allowed to openly discuss details of the incident. She blasted school officials for not acting sooner. Additionally, the Santa Rosa City Schools Wellness Center on Lewis Road will offer similar services. Pulido, who ran from the school following the incident, was found by officers in the bed of Santa Rosa Creek about a mile away from the school. The 15-year-old Montgomery High School student suspected of killing a schoolmate during a March 1 fight inside a classroom was officially charged Monday with voluntary manslaughter.. We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. As they walked away, Gonzalez pointed to blood on the floor. At the 11:15 a.m. bell, students poured out of class and met at the flagpole in front of school, where they expressed their anger over Jayden Pientas death and demanded, through signs, speeches and chants, more be done to address campus safety concerns. As The Press Democrats county government and politics reporter, my job is to spotlight their work and track the outcomes. Do you have questions you want answered? 8:35 p.m.: Police late Wednesday identified the deceased victim as Jayden. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. The Santa Rosa Press Democrat Montgomery High Santa Rosa principal, assistant on leave after student's fatal stabbing KGO-TV How do violence numbers at Montgomery High compare with other local Watch it live here: UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: Santa Rosa Police Department is holding press conference on fatal stabbing this morning at Montgomery High School. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. I will share that the decision was not made lightly, she added. A poster board scrawled with messages of love and grief was laid at the site. And, Santa Rosa City Schools Board members have been inundated with demands for change from students and parents during subsequent gatherings and meetings. 4 arrested in connection with Montgomery High School burglary You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. It is still to be determined, according to district officials. Both Trunnell and Fong declined a request for interview Monday through district spokeswoman Vanessa Wedderburn. Ahlborn earned $133,410 for the same period, including $19,675 in other pay, according to Transparent California records. You can reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com. Pienta suffered three stab wounds one to his chest and two to his back, police said and he died after being taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Are you a student, teacher, parent or district employee who wants to talk about your knowledge or experience involving the incident? For the more badly injured boy, the initial medical treatment involved a chest seal, Cregan said. Jocelyne Chiquet, 18, who came to pick up her 14-year-old brother, said she was scared because her brother had talked about increasing violence or possible gang activity during school. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. Classes were canceled Wednesday will not resume until Monday, school officials announced. The schools notice to police came at 8:30 p.m. Friday, about four hours after a 4:37 p.m. email to parents and about eight hours after the suspects a 15-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were discovered on campus with the knives, according to timelines presented by police and school officials. EDITORS NOTE: A typo in the potential charges facing the 15-year-old suspect has been corrected. Montgomery Independent Am I next? read one of the signs held aloft over a crowd of about 200 students at the front entrance to the school off Hahman Drive. And what happened there (at Montgomery High School) could just as easily happen at any school in this district, Santa Rosa, (Maria) Carillo, Piner, Elsie (Allen), she said. We appreciate your understanding particularly given her need to pour all of her attention into the safety and support of Monty students and staff.. Jun 22. Manzanita Elementary, Village Elementary and Spring Lake Middle schools were briefly placed on lockdown, which lifted after noon, according to the Rincon Valley Unified School District. We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. Parents of students at Montgomery echoed safety concerns Thursday. A student died Wednesday in a stabbing at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa. Detectives Seek Motive in Fatal California School Stabbing - U.S. News And this is painful. "I'm angry, in shock, upset, sad, frustrated, every emotion you could feel when your best friend dies is what I feel today," Cruz said. Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez issued a statement promising to be exhaustive in our investigation and analysis of the incident.. It came in a series of large student-led walkouts starting last week and continued this week in emotional testimony at a pair of packed district meetings and campus demonstrations and street marches that amounted to one of the largest collective youth protest in Sonoma County in a decade. Tips from witnesses led to the suspect being located about 11:51 p.m. in the area of Santa Rosa Creek behind St. Eugene Cathedral School at the corner of Montgomery Drive and Farmers Lane. Daniel Pulido . She pointed to school staffing shortages, families increasingly under financial distress, the need for more student supervision at home, and a culture that sensationalizes campus violence through social media. The shooting prompted a terrifying 2-hour lockdown affecting thousands of students at three campuses that ended after police pulled the suspect from class in front of his peers. No off-topic remarks. Howell said she hopes Fong and her former colleagues on the school board will recognize that issues related to violence at Montgomery are not exclusive to that campus and likely wont be resolved by merely removing the campus leadership. The poignant account was emblematic of the mourning, fear and frustration that hung over Santa Rosas second-oldest high school campus and surrounding community Thursday, a day after the worst incident of school violence in Sonoma County in a generation or more. Only Ahlborn would return to work. THE PRESS DEMOCRAT September 25, 2018 Two teenage girls were arrested after what police called a fight that escalated to a stabbing Friday night during a football game at Montgomery High. The teacher and three staff members rushed to stop the fight, which erupted in front of 27 other students. And in the process, we intend to play an important role in examining whats going on inside Montgomery High with hopes this tragedy is never repeated in Sonoma County. Posted July 12, 2023 Princeton Day School announces the arrival of Kelley Nicholson-Flynn, PhD, who began her official tenure as the. A 15-year-old freshman was booked on suspicion of homicide and other charges in connection with Wednesday's fatal stabbing in an art classroom at Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa,. Most Popular UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: But Howell said that adding administrators to campuses is a good idea. A decision to file charges will be based on the available information and relevant law, she said. THE PRESS DEMOCRAT. He was arrested on suspicion of homicide, attempted homicide and weapons offenses. Two students at the school entered the classroom, where 27 other students were, and engaged in a fight with a freshman student in the class. UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: The 15-year-old student faces two counts and will next appear in court on Friday. There needs to be a change in how we treat people and how we act, another student said. Paulson was paid $137,490 for the school year ending in 2021, according to the latest records available via Transparent California, a website that posts public employee compensation figures. Reaching a Montgomery Standard The addition of a campus officer Monday and Tuesday at Montgomery High stemmed from weekend discussions between Trunnell and Cregan, according to a Santa Rosa police statement Monday. David Mishook, an attorney for the school district, said no such gag order exists. Im worried for him and what he saw and heard, Amy Gonzales said. As always, our goal is to seek justice for crime victims and the community at large.. He remained in custody Thursday at the countys Juvenile Justice Detention Center. She plans to run again for trustee after the current school year ends. I would have expected our Superintendent Anna Trunnell to acknowledge the asks for help.. Officials said the stabbing occurred in a classroom on the north side of campus and police havent determined where the two 16-year-olds were supposed to be at the time. inside an art class on the east Santa Rosa high school campus. Cregan said a 15-year-old boy is in custody. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. She returned Monday to the school where she was principal from 2006 to 2016. Mahurin said the freshman was the only one armed during the fight but police havent determined where he kept the knife or why he had it. Other students walked in groups, making a beeline for their cars. Pienta, 16, was fatally stabbed during a fight Wednesday in an art class occupied by 27 students, including a 15-year-old freshman Daniel Jesus Pulido, who was identified Monday in court records and proceedings as the suspect. He had been in the schools main office just after 11 a.m. Wednesday when Pienta and the other student who was stabbed walked in, grasping their wounds. The Press Democrat reported last week the Santa Rosa Police Department received 97 calls for a response from Montgomery High in the past 12 months. Juvenile court cases in California involving homicide, rape, arson and other violent offenses are required to be open to the public. Hang in there, Cameron Gonzalez, 15, recalled Pientas father say again. Over the course of two hours, Montgomery students used the walkout to grieve, press for accountability from school officials and discuss what they want done to improve school security. 8:35 p.m.: Police late Wednesday identified the deceased victim as Jayden Jess Pienta, 16, of Santa Rosa. The boy who police said wielded the knife fled and was found about 40 minutes later nearly a mile north of campus, where he was taken into custody. The video shows a third person seek to intervene, and the two boys are separated as the older boy ducks away, appearing to make his way toward the classroom door. On Wednesday, Pienta, a former youth football and baseball player known by his friends as a stylish dresser, died from injuries suffered in the fight inside a classroom at Montgomery. By Barbara A. Preston | Posted June 22, 2023 Montgomery High School celebrated its 408 graduates in a ceremony in the gym last night. He was identified late Wednesday as Jayden Jess Pienta, 16, of Santa Rosa. We have these approaches that seem to involve sitting down and talking about the problem a lot that is a solution some of the time. She said she understood that and she, too, wasnt quite ready. Neither Santa Rosa City Schools Superintendent Anna Trunnell nor the district's public information officer, Vanessa Wedderburn, responded to multiple email and voice messages before and after 5 p.m. seeking comment. I don't get to hold him. A trial date was set Thursday for a Santa Rosa teenager charged with killing a classmate at Montgomery High School nearly five months ago. March 1, 2023. That could have been anybody.. Thanks for reading The Press Democrat, and please reach out if you have additional questions. UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: Montgomery High School Principal Adam Paulson announced that the Santa Rosa schools campus would remain closed Thursday following the fatal stabbing of a student. Smaller groups diverged from the main crowd. Her sense of security is now shattered, she said. Principal: 2 students at Santa Rosa's Montgomery High found Friday with Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan has confirmed that a 16-year-old student at Montgomery High School has died in a stabbing incident Wednesday morning. Trial Date Set for Suspect in Montgomery High School Stabbing She said at one point the school was a comfort zone for her. Police said they initiated an investigation after learning initially from a parent that school officials had notified Montgomery families on Friday that the students had been disciplined and sent home. Video shows fight inside Santa Rosa's Montgomery High School classroom A 2019 state law that was upheld in 2021 by the California Surpreme Court prohibits 14- and 15-year-olds from being charged as adults, according to Sonoma County Assistant District Attorney Brian Staebell. Please know that we will continue to stay vigilant in maintaining the safety of our students and staff. We do talk regularly to our students about safety and caring for each other on campus.". The event offered support for the community in wake of the tragedy, said church leader Kevin Kubandi, a football coach at the high school. The latest incident, as Paulson described it in his email, came a week and a half after a 16-year-old Montgomery High student was fatally stabbed March 1 in a classroom at the Hahman Drive school, marking the worst case of campus violence in Sonoma County in a generation or more. It shows the initial classroom interaction between two students and the intervention by what appears to be a teacher. Staebell said prosecutors are pursuing a manslaughter charge rather than first or second degree murder charges based on reports that the 15-year-old was defending himself during the altercation. Another 16-year-old junior who police said also was involved in initiating the fight was stabbed in the hand. Police late Wednesday identified the deceased victim as Jayden Jess Pienta, 16, of Santa Rosa. We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. The team will consist of six student representatives, two parents, two community representatives, two teachers, two school administrators and two district officials, with applications available March 20 and a first meeting April 4. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. She said that in the past year and a half, too many administrators have been pulled from their school oversight duties to fill in as substitutes. Katz said she is not sure the school can do anything to make her feel completely safe about dropping off her son, who is a freshman. Hang in there, Travis Pienta told his son. Staff writers Jeremy Hay, Alana Minkler and Colin Atagi contributed to this report. On Twitter @paulinapineda22. We will miss you every day with all our hearts, said another. As a Press Democrat reporter covering education, its my goal to give others a voice to share these stories. Fatal stabbing at Montgomery High School preceded by confrontation As members of our student body we're asking for important answers to why our school has not gotten the attention that it needs. But it does not reveal extreme violence or the ensuing two stabbings. (Beth Schlanker / Associated Press) Associated Press March 4, 2023 12:04 PM PT SANTA ROSA, Calif. Detectives said Saturday that a fight involving three students at a Northern California. Hours after the attack, Cynthia Padilla, 17, remained shaken. Montgomery High Schools classes are canceled until Monday. The knife, described as a folding blade, up to 5 inches long, has not been recovered. Little to no consequences are handed down when earlier indications of violence happen, the teacher said. As that process was underway, the student handed off an object to another student, Paulson wrote. (AP) A police officer in a Washington, D.C., suburb shot and killed a man after reports he had, without provocation, stabbed four people at random on Saturday, officials said. Cregan said the 15-year-old suspect was located in the area of the creek behind St. Eugenes Cathedral School at about 11:51 a.m. Officials have not located the weapon. Following the group prayer, those in the crowd walked onto the schools campus. I was fuming watching the superintendent and other officials walk offstage this afternoon, student body member Joey Browser said. On Twitter @colin_atagi. A kid just died, said Rosemary Cromwell, 17, a senior at Maria Carrillo High School, where students were planning a Friday walkout. Pienta was fatally stabbed during a fight between students in a classroom at the school last week. A longtime Santa Rosa High School teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity because the district has forbidden unauthorized employees from speaking to the media said on Thursday that she and her colleagues around the school district have been worrying about school violence for some time. No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. EDITORS NOTE: A headline description accompanying this story has been revised to accurately refer to the duration of Assistant Vice Principal Tyler Ahlborns leave. At least 50 people attended a morning prayer walk hosted by New Vintage Church, a local Christian organization. UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: The nine-second cellphone video shows the initial classroom fight Wednesday that police said led, moments later, to the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old Montgomery High School student. School . You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Hay at 707-387-2960 or jeremy.hay@pressdemocrat.com. School no longer feels safe.. Have a story tip for us? On Twitter @madi.smals. Many questions about the incident remain, including concerns that school officials knew about previous altercations between the 15-year-old suspect and the student who was stabbed in the hand during the fight. "He was focusing all of his attention on his friend, trying to get his friend better, even though (his hand) was bleeding everywhere," Gonzalez said.