Suspect arrested after shooting near Santa Rosa school

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UPDATE 10/22/2019 12:30 p.m. Police say an argument between two students led to a shooting outside a Northern California high school, with one of them opening fire with a handgun before returning to class.

Santa Rosa police Capt. John Cregan said the 17-year-old gunman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following the attack Tuesday on the sidewalk just outside Ridgway High School.

Cregan says a 16-year-old boy was shot twice and is in stable condition. The captain says the shooting was isolated and there’s no indication that additional violence was planned.

Police previously said an accomplice was involved but now say that juvenile has been released.

Cregan says the shooter put the gun in a backpack and handed it off to someone else. It’s unclear if that person knew a gun was inside, and the weapon hasn’t been found.

UPDATE 10/22/2019 12:00 p.m. Police have caught a possible suspect in a shooting near a Northern California high school Tuesday that wounded one person and put thousands of students in three schools on lockdown.

It’s not clear where the suspect was caught after a less than two-hour manhunt, but TV footage from a helicopter showed a boy or man being led away in handcuffs while students were taken out of a building and searched.

Witnesses told police that the shooter fired three to four rounds near Ridgway High School in Santa Rosa before running away, police Sgt. Summer Gloeckner said.

Police said the shooting was originally reported on the campus north of San Francisco but now say it was close to the school.

A male victim was shot at least once, reportedly in the abdomen, Gloeckner said. The extent of his injuries was not immediately clear.

“We’re not sure if the suspect and victim knew each other,” she said.

Authorities were still searching the campus for any other possible suspects, Gloeckner said. Police also were looking for the assailant’s handgun.

There were no further reports of violence on the campus, police said in a statement.

Officers were called to the high school just before 9 a.m., after classes had begun. Officials locked down the school, as well as nearby Santa Rosa High School and Santa Rosa Junior College.

School district officials referred questions to police but tweeted that “students are safe. Lockdown in place to keep everyone safe.”

Ridgway High, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) north of San Francisco, has about 250 students and is an alternative continuation school for Santa Rosa High, which has about 2,000 students.

Santa Rosa Junior College has about 14,000 students on that campus, although it’s unclear how many were there at the time.

UPDATE 10/22/2019 10:45 a.m. Santa Rosa police said a possible suspect has been detained. Officers are still searching for the weapon.

PREVIOUS STORY: A gunman shot and wounded one person at a Northern California high school Tuesday, setting off a search for the assailant and locking down three schools.

Witnesses told police that the shooter fired three to four rounds with a handgun just outside Ridgway High School in Santa Rosa before running away, police Sgt. Summer Gloeckner said.

A male victim was shot at least once, reportedly in the abdomen, she said. The extent of his injuries was not immediately clear.

“We’re not sure if the suspect and victim knew each other,” Gloeckner said.

There were no further reports of violence on the campus, police said in a statement, and authorities do not consider it an active shooter situation.

“Santa Rosa police are actively searching for the lone shooter,” the statement said.

Police were called to the high school just before 9 a.m., after classes had begun. Officials locked down the school, as well as nearby Santa Rosa High School and Santa Rosa Junior College.

School district officials referred questions to police.

Ridgway High, about 55 miles (89 kilometers) north of San Francisco, has about 300 students, according to its website.