Vallejo police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection to the shooting death of Max Rusk, a senior student at Jesse M. Bethel High School.
Rusk was found shot dead near a skateboard park not far from the school late Thursday morning, Vallejo police said.
Police said the suspect, identified as Zachary Kroll, and Rusk knew each other and the shooting was not a random act of violence.
Police said information from the public helped lead investigators to Kroll's arrest, which occurred at around midnight early Friday during a traffic stop on the East side of Vallejo.
Family members and the victim's girlfriend said they are relieved a suspect has been caught.
"A lot of people are hurting for this and he should pay," said James Busch, the victim's father. "I hope the kid burns in hell."
Rusk's girlfriend, Naomi Zermeno, called the suspect a coward.
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"He's two years older than my boyfriend -- he was a coward," Zermeno said. "Who does that? Who kills an innocent child for no reason. I know he should have been in school, but how takes a life from their family?"
Police responded to Thursday's incident after receiving reports around 11:55 a.m. of a possible shooting near a skate park in the 1800 block of Ascot Parkway, Lt. Kenny Park said.
Rusk's body was found on a pathway.
Emergency crews responded but Rusk was pronounced dead at the scene, Park said. Vallejo police K-9 officers and the California Highway Patrol's air unit searched the area for a suspect but eventually cleared the area.
The high school and Joseph Wardlaw Elementary School were temporarily placed on lockdown during the investigation.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
