A 16-year-old boy was stabbed to death during a fight at a Santa Rosa high school on Wednesday.
According to a release from the Santa Rose Police Department, the incident took placeinside a classroom at Montgomery High Schoolslightly after 11 a.m. local time.
Two students were stabbed, but one — identified as Jayden Jess Pienta — sustained at least three stab wounds and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Family members confirmed his death to San Francisco Bay Area CBS network outlet KPIX.A memorial for the teenhas been growing outside the school.
Jayden Jess Pienta.
“One of those students received what appeared to be three stab wounds to his upper body. One student received one stab wound to his left hand,” Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan told KPIX. He added that it appeared there had been “some previous altercations between these students.”
Officers arrived nearly four minutes after receiving the call and began life saving efforts on Peinta, according to the police release.
Both students who had been stabbed were conscious and able to provide initial statements to authorities, KPIX reported. The second victim will survive his injuries.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
Pienta’s grandmother Cheryl told KPIX of her grandson, “He was a good boy, he was a quiet, gentle boy. He didn’t harm anybody. This is so out of character for something like this to happen to him. I don’t understand.”
His aunt said there was nothing they could have done to stop the incident. “He was a great kid,” she said. “He minded his own business, he did good in school. He was one of the sweetest, most lovable, kindest, cutest, just so bashful and compassionate. He e didn’t deserve any of this, nobody saw this coming. '
She added that her nephew’s death was “an absolute tragedy and a loss.”
source: people.com
