Maria Carrillo student found with gun minutes before Montgomery stabbing, police say

On the same day that a student was fatally stabbed at Montgomery High School, Santa Rosa police made an unrelated arrest at Maria Carrillo High School where a student had been accused of bringing a gun to campus.

The 16-year-old Maria Carrillo student is suspected of possessing a gun on campus and obstructing officers, police said Thursday.

Rumors about someone having a gun were reported to police around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday — nearly 30 minutes before the fatal stabbing at Montgomery High School, five miles away.

Officers found the Maria Carrillo suspect and were interviewing him in an administrative office when he ran away, police said.

They chased the student across the street and detained him in a mobile home park on Montecito Boulevard. He did not have a gun, but was arrested on suspicion of obstructing police, officials said.

He was treated at a local hospital for unspecified medical complaints that weren’t related to the incident, police said.

School staff sent an email to parents advising them that there was a rumor of a gun on campus.

Investigators searched the campus for the gun but it was not found.

On Thursday, school administrators told police they had learned the weapon may have been discarded elsewhere.

Officers found the unloaded handgun in a storm drain on Oakstone Court in the mobile home park.

News of this second security issue at a Santa Rosa school, in the wake of the killing at Montgomery, has bolstered safety concerns raised by parents, faculty, and students of the Santa Rosa City Schools district.

In June 2020, district trustees opted to suspend the district’s relationship with the Santa Rosa Police Department, which had been placing school resource officers on high school and middle school campuses for 25 years, at that point.

At the time, the district said it wanted to evaluate the efficacy and fairness of the SRO program in response to the public outcry that followed the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

On Thursday, Rosemary Cromwell, a 17-year-old Maria Carrillo senior, said campus safety had already been a hot topic over the past month following other security incidents that included a hoax involving a school shooting and a fire at the school.

Now with Wednesday’s incident, Cromwell said, few of her fellow students feel safe.

Little information about the matter has been shared directly with students, she said. Emails went to parents to share with their children, and that’s not what students want.

“It almost feels like we’re not trusted with that information, and it’s upsetting,” Cromwell said. “And it’s our lives that are potentially in danger.”

On Thursday afternoon, Maria Carrillo school staff issued another email acknowledging that a gun had been found.

“On behalf of our administrative team, staff, and students, I am extremely grateful to SRPD for completing such an exhaustive search,” Principal Monique Luke said in the email. “Additionally, I want to thank the students that came forward with information, their actions helped to keep our schools and the surrounding area safe.”

She added, “recent events have our school community on edge,” in reference to the fatal stabbing at Montgomery High School.

According to Santa Rosa police, two 16-year-old students at Montgomery High School entered an art class and started a fight with a 15-year-old freshman.

A teacher and three staff members rushed to stop the fight but it resumed and ended with the younger student stabbing the other two with a folding knife.

One survived a stabbing to his hand, but the other died after being stabbed twice in his back and once in his chest, police said.

He was identified as Jayden Jess Pienta, 16, of Santa Rosa.

The freshman was arrested on suspicion of homicide, attempted homicide, bringing a weapon on campus and assault on a school campus.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi