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Novato Shooting: Raids Executed at Homes; Two Suspects Detained

Marin County sheriff's deputies, Novato police and search-and-rescue teams executed raids Thursday afternoon in connection with a shooting that killed one high school student and injured another, officials said.

Tactical teams secured a residence near Rowland and Novato boulevards around 2:30 p.m. They detained one homicide suspect there, Marin sheriff's officials said.

The teams then moved to a second location in the 1400 block of Leafwood Drive, where a second suspect was detained about 4:20 p.m. Both suspects are minors, sheriff's officials said.

One neighbor described the scene at the first raid.

"All of a sudden about eight guys came out with their guns and told anyone in the house to come out with their hands up, we have a search warrant," said Mary Ferriera.

With two suspects in custody, investigators were regrouping Thursday night and turning their focus on a third suspect, the sheriff's office said.

At a news conference earlier in the day, Lt. Doug Pittman said that the two victims in a double shooting and stabbing in Novato on Wednesday in a residential neighborhood attended Novato High School. The school was closed Thursday.

One student was stabbed and survived; the other student's body was found on a hillside near the Marin Country Club. 

Pittman would not discuss the three suspects, who were described to authorities by the surviving student.

"This is a very, very, stressful time for people," he said. "It's a small community, and everybody at the high school knows everybody. The waiting game is to find out who it is."

The crime scene is about five miles south of the high school. Sarah Bailey, 16, said she will definitely be "in a state of paranoia. It's just crazy to know that they're gone."

The double shooting was reported Wednesday, when Pittman said a victim called 911 around 5 p.m. He reported he had been shot and stabbed on Fairway Drive near St. Andrews Drive. He told deputies that three people were behind the attacks, but deputies couldn't find them. Pittman said that the student had to work about a third of a mile to get to a point where he had cell service to make the call.

During their search, sheriff's deputies found a second victim dead on a hillside from apparent gunshot wounds.

The news shocked Novato High School parent Lori Bailey. "It's like you always want to look around right now and keep an eye on everything," she said. "With the kids, not knowing who it is, they don't know what to do."

Novato High, as with other schools in the district, will reopen on Tuesday.

Stephanie Chuang, Terry McSweeney and Pete Suratos contributed to this report.

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