The Willow Glen Resident

High school student is stabbed in hand close to campus

By Cecily Barnes

A 16-year-old Willow Glen High School student was stabbed in the hand on Sept. 30 when he was walking to school.

The incident occurred at 8:55 a.m. two blocks from campus. Two other 16-year-olds who, according to the police booking sheet, also attend Willow Glen High School assaulted the boy at Malone and Radio avenues, reports San Jose Police Department spokesman Louis Quezada. According to Quezada, the teen suffered a "non-life-threatening wound to the hand."

Immediately following the assault, the victim walked to Willow Glen High School and approached office personnel, who called 911 and then the boy's father to come pick him up.

Paramedics were not called because the teen's wound was not very serious, Quezada said.

Both suspects fled the area--apparently by bus--before police arrived. A short time later the suspects were arrested at a Race Street apartment.

The Willow Glen High School students were booked into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Detention Facility and charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Police believe the incident was gang-related, Quezada said.

The two suspects will likely be disciplined by the San Jose Unified School District as well. Although district spokeswoman Maureen Munroe could not discuss the specifics of this case, she explained the district's policy on violence.

"If any student was caught with a weapon, it would immediately be grounds for expulsion," Munroe said. "They would be referred for expulsion, and before that time they would be suspended. We wouldn't have somebody who had done a violent act be on campus waiting for the wheels of justice to turn. We would make sure they were off campus."

Principal Patrick Day says few Willow Glen High School students identify with gangs. For those that do, members of the city's anti-gang task force visit the school regularly to meet with them.

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