WATSONVILLE — Four Watsonville High School students were arrested for two separate incidents that occurred on campus Thursday morning — one a pair of stabbings that injured a student and faculty member, and the other a felony battery incident that left another student injured.
The campus was placed on lockdown, and classes were canceled for the remainder of the day.
In a press conference, interim Watsonville Police Chief David Rodriguez said officers responded to calls of a stabbing on campus shortly before 10:04 a.m. Less than two minutes later, a sergeant arrived on scene to find school staff holding down the suspect, a 16-year-old male student, who had stabbed a 14-year-old student. During the commotion, a faculty member who intervened was also stabbed.
Rodriguez said officers, Watsonville firefighters and school staff were rendering aid to the victims while ambulances arrived and the school was placed on lockdown. Lincoln Street was closed off as officers investigated, and an additional lockdown was established at nearby Linscott Charter School, which was lifted shortly before 10:30 a.m.
.David Rodriguez, interim Watsonville police chief, provides an update to local media at a press conference regarding a pair of stabbing and felony battery incidents at Watsonville High School that left three injured. Heather Contreras, Pajaro Valley Unified School District superintendent, listens. (Nick Sestanovich – Santa Cruz Sentinel)”A lengthier lockdown was needed at the high school in order for us to continue our investigation,” said Rodriguez.
Soon after, it was determined another incident occurred in which a different student fled from the scene of the stabbing, gathered two other students and attacked another 14-year-old student around the corner from the stabbing.
“The incidents happened one right after the other,” said Rodriguez.
Three students were arrested in the battery incident: a 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds. All three victims were transported to a local hospital where Rodriguez said they are expected to recover.
A faculty member was able to wrestle a knife out of the stabbing suspect’s hand, and it was recovered at the scene, Rodriguez said.
All on-duty police officers responded, and the police department received assistance from the Watsonville Fire Department, the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, which deployed a drone. Regarding whether a school resource officer was present, Rodriguez said an additional officer has been hired to serve at Watsonville High later this year. Another school resource officer is assigned to Pajaro Valley High School and has also lent support to Watsonville High but was not on campus at the time of the stabbing.
Heather Contreras, superintendent of Pajaro Valley Unified School District, said students began reuniting with their parents or were sent home on buses starting at 12:25 p.m. Classes were canceled for the rest of the day but are scheduled to resume Friday, and counseling and support services would be available to all students and faculty.
All four students were booked into juvenile hall. The stabbing suspect was charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The three felony battery suspects were charged with felony battery, conspiracy and assault with a deadly weapon. While a weapon was not used in the second incident, Rodriguez said “the force used was so great that it amounted to the use of a deadly weapon.”
Rodriguez said a number of factors are under investigation, including whether the suspects and victims knew each other, whether the suspects had prior law enforcement incidents, if the suspects had any gang affiliations and if the incidents were connected to an incident last week, in which a 17-year-old student with local gang ties was arrested for bringing a gun onto the Watsonville High campus.
Rodriguez said the department is reviewing the school’s surveillance footage for its investigation, but the department is advising any students or faculty who might have taken photos or cellphone images of the incident to upload them to a secure link at bit.ly/48Gppc9. All submissions will be confidential, and the information will only be used for investigative purposes, police wrote.