Police said Monday they have arrested a 13-year-old boy suspected of fatally stabbing another youth last month after a dispute at a San Leandro Safeway store.
About 5:15 p.m. on April 2, officers found 18-year-old Zion Gooden with stab wounds to his arm and chest at the store at 555 Bancroft Ave.
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WATCH HEREGooden was given life-saving aid and take to a local trauma center, but he died there later that night.
“You have to learn to be able to take a breath, take a deep breath, take a step back from things that are just not worth going down a path of escalation and then you end up with something that you can’t take back,” Abe Teng of the San Leandro Police Department said.
Investigators looked at surveillance videos and interviewed witnesses, and it appeared that an argument broke out over the suspect's interaction with an associate of Gooden's, police said.
When the confrontation escalated into a fight, the 13-year-old allegedly stabbed Gooden with a knife.
The suspect was identified from the video footage, and on May 16 he was arrested at school in a nearby city.
“The surveillance footage was very helpful. It showed almost everything that happened. We were able to get still images, and ultimately that led to the identification of our suspect,” Teng said.
Police said a search warrant served at the boy's home turned up evidence linking him to the stabbing.
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SIGN UP “It’s frustrating to see that someone, on both sides, you have an 18-year-old who lost their life and you have a 13-year-old now with a life-altering crime,” Teng said.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office has since filed criminal charges against the child.
Shoppers who frequent the San Leandro store are horrified and heartbroken that such a young kid could allegedly resort to that level of aggression.
“When you think of 13 you think of them playing ball at the park with family, that’s the last thing you think about a 13-year-old being a part of and wanting to be a part of. Extremely sad,” shopper Janelle Woodard said.
Some say it’s a sign Bay Area youth need more support and guidance.
“I just hope and pray one day that all this stops because it is very hurtful to see, very senseless to see families go through these tragedies or violent crimes amongst each other,” shopper Nicole Lewis said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police via Detective Sergeant J. Vincent at 510-577-3315 or the anonymous tip line at 510-577-3278.
