Novato police have arrested five teens, three 13-year-olds and two 15-year-olds, on suspicion of attempted murder in an after-hours Oct. 24 stabbing at Lynwood Elementary School.
One adult has also been arrested on suspicion of felony conspiracy and abetting in the attack, which left a 16-year-old victim critically hurt and another 17-year-old with minor injuries.
Police led an operation early Tuesday to round up the five teen suspects and the one adult, followed by residential search warrants to collect still more evidence, according to a prepared statement from the police department.
The five teen suspects were taken to the Marin County Juvenile Hall and the adult, 19-year-old Emerson Gonzalez Ordonez, to the Marin County Jail. All six are from Novato.
Police first went to Lynwood shortly before 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 after staff members who working after students had left for the day called to report a disturbance, police said.
Police found the 16-year-old victim bleeding from several stab wounds and, along with medics from the Novato Fire Protection District, “rendered life-saving medical aid” until the victim could be taken to a local trauma center, according to police. When they searched the area they found the older victim, whom they said the same group had attacked and who was later released to his parents.
Witnesses told police that several juveniles had left the area in a car after the attack, police said.
Since the stabbing, city police have interviewed dozens of witnesses, studied video surveillance and reviewed other evidence and “collaborated with staff from the Novato Unified School District to put school safety measures in place,” according to the department’s statement.
Police have referred to the stabbing as “gang-related” but have not specified what gangs may have been involved, nor have they reported any possible motive. School officials have referred to the stabbing victim as a “student” but not specified which school he attends.
Police said Tuesday that the victim “remains in critical condition at a Bay Area hospital, facing a lengthy recovery.”
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