San Jose police have arrested a 16-year-old driver who they say intentionally ran over multiple people back in September.
Following a confrontation in a restaurant in the area of Stewart and Alum Rock avenues on Sept. 23, the 16-year-old followed the victims outside and ran them over with a car, according to police.
Video of the incident was captured by a nearby surveillance camera and shared by police.
“The footage is very graphic and very telling of the callousness of this suspect," San Jose police Officer Steve Aponte said. "The only thing more shocking than that is that this individual is 16 years old."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
The 16-year-old took off from the scene but later returned and struck another victim, leaving them with life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Detectives conducted an investigation and identified the teen as the primary suspect.
On Nov. 8, authorities arrested the teen in San Jose and booked them into juvenile hall for attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact San Jose police Detective Martinez (#4533) via email at 4533@sanjoseca.gov or by phone at 408-277-4161.
Police said the case is the latest evidence in a trouble trend: minors committing serious crimes.
Last month, a pregnant mother and her child were killed in a hit-and-run crash involving a stolen car. Two teens were later arrested.
There have also been many violent retail thefts across the state.
"As officers, yes, it’s absolutely a terrible thing to see a young person not only committing those crimes but very likely throwing their lives away at such an early age," Aponte said.
Privately, officers say there's another issue: juveniles face few consequences for their criminal actions.
Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall has 348 beds. As of Friday, only 76 minors were there.
County stats show 60% of youth brought into juvenile hall are released after a detention hearing. Most of them are 16 to 17 years old, and most of those are in for serious felonies against other people.
"There are consequences, but we cannot equate juveniles with adults because they’re young, they’re immature," Attorney Ruben Munoz said. "Their brains function very differently than adult brains."
