An Elsie Allen High School student was stabbed by a classmate Friday afternoon, according to a Santa Rosa Police Department spokesperson.
SRPD Public Information Officer Patricia Seffens said the SRPD was still investigating where the incident occurred on campus. A school employee called 911, but Officer Seffens said they could not provide the name of the employee, but it was from the main office.
The incident resulted in a minor injury, according to Seffens.
Elsie Allen students, who asked for their names not to be shared, claimed at least two students attacked another student on campus, outside near the English department buildings, at the back of the school.
The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m., according to Seffens. The Press Democrat reported the school went into lockdown soon after and Principal Gabriel Albavera called 911.
The students said they were in a lockdown for a little over an hour.
One student alleged, after the incident, they saw the injured student being escorted over to the nurse’s office, where they were treated prior to being taken away by an ambulance.
Seffens said in a phone call with Oak Leaf reporters, “We can respond to calls for help and assistance, but absent of a school resource officer [SRO] program we can not be present on campuses every day. The school district chose to end the SRO program several years ago and we are currently collaborating with Santa Rosa City Schools on what a reinstated SRO program would look like and we are hoping it will come back.”
In 2020 Santa Rosa City Schools voted to put a pause to the SRO program indefinitely.
Santa Rosa City Schools board president Omar Medina wrote in an email today to Oak Leaf reporters that, “Today’s incident at Elsie Allen High School underscores the critical importance of maintaining a safe environment for our students and staff. We are committed to supporting the actions taken by our dedicated staff, guided by the leadership of our new Superintendent, Dr. Daisy Morales. Ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students is our top priority, and we are working together as a district to address this incident and strengthen our safety protocols.”
Medina added this in his response to Oak Leaf reporters email regarding the incident and the SRO program “In light of the tragic incident at Montgomery High School in 2023, the conversation around SROs was reignited. Recognizing the complexities involved, the board voted in December 2023 to work towards reintroducing a pilot SRO program. Since then, we have been in ongoing discussions with our counterparts at the City of Santa Rosa and the Santa Rosa Police Department to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would allow us to move forward with this program in a way that is responsive to the needs of our students and community.”
There is currently no credible threat to the Santa Rosa Junior College community, however students should be expecting more on campus presence from SRPD in the coming days, according to Robert Brownlee SRJC district police chief.
“We have some of our officers on foot patrol right now,” Brownlee said.
Additional reporting by Hana Seals, Oliver Kindt and Sal Sandoval-Garduno
