A 16-year-old student at a high school in Santa Rosa died Wednesday after a fight broke out inside a classroom, police said.
This happened at Montgomery High School on Hahman Drive at 11:11 a.m.
Officers said two students, both juniors, walked into an art class and confronted a freshman student. A fight broke out between the three and the freshman student pulled out a knife, police said.
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One of the junior students was stabbed multiple times in the upper body and the other junior was stabbed in the hand, police said.
Both students left the classroom and went to the nurse's office where they were met by officers who initiated aid and sent them to the hospital where one of them, Jayden Jess Pienta, died, police said.
The other injured student was treated and is expected to be OK.
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The 15-year-old freshman student involved fled the scene but a witness later spotted him hiding in the creek behind St. Eugene’s Cathedral and officers took him into custody.
The teen did not have any weapons on him and officers are still looking for the knife used in the stabbings.
“How is she going to get through this?” said Cheryl Griffin, Pienta’s grandmother, talking about the victim’s mom. “How do you help her bury her baby? I don’t understand.”
Parents and friends were left wondering if the school should have seen the incident coming and done something to stop it.
“They slashed his tires last week, all four tires on his car,” Griffin said. “And instead of them suspending this kid, they let him come back to the class, it’s the same kid!”
Students were also questioning the school’s reaction to the incident.
“A student had to call 911, nobody else, a student, a kid,” said Yomara, a senior at Montgomery High. “The school didn’t do anything. The school knew the students had problems beforehand!”
Santa Rosa police say they have responded to 97 service calls at this one high school in the past 12 months.
The school board eliminated its school resource officer back in 2020.
“Everything is crazy these days, you know? If there would’ve been somebody here to help absolutely could’ve helped. Would that have stopped it? We don’t know and we’ll never know,” said Carole Snell, Pienta’s aunt.
“Our focus is on meeting the immediate physical and emotional needs of our students and staff,” Anna Trunnell, Santa Rosa City Schools District superintendent. “I also want to acknowledge the staff here at Montgomery who worked quickly to ensure that our campus followed emergency protocols in order to keep students and staff safe.”
The school will be closed Thursday and Friday.
The Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools, Amie Carter, issued the following statement:
"Wednesday was the day that every parent, every child, every teacher, and every school administrator dreads. A young man went to Montgomery High School and never came home, because of a senseless, shocking act of violence that played out in full view of students.
As a community, our hearts are broken. The agony of this unexpected loss defies the imagination. I send my deepest condolences to the family, friends, and classmates of the teen who was killed.
This is a time to hug our children and bring them in close, while giving them a space in which to grieve. My office is working with our partners at Santa Rosa City Schools to provide behavioral health and other support to the students, families, and school staff affected by this horrific killing. We will do everything we can to help them in the days, weeks, and months to come.
No child should return home from school with one fewer classmate, or one fewer friend, and it is our job as a community to make sure we are leaning in and supporting our young people.
We also will be engaging in dialogue with Santa Rosa City Schools, law enforcement, and our other school districts to ensure we are doing everything we can to improve student safety, but our focus today is on those most directly impacted by these terrible events."
