Student stabbed at Mission campus

By Brian Rinker
The Guardsman

A 21-year-old male City College student was stabbed multiple times during school hours on May 6, allegedly by another City College student, after an argument erupted in the halls of Mission campus.

The victim called 911 and remained on the phone line until San Francisco police officers arrived, according to police. He received medical aid on the scene and was then taken to San Francisco General Hospital.

The SFPD apprehended a suspect near the scene. He was positively identified as the perpetrator by the victim and by a witness, according to police reports. The suspect is a 17-year-old male from San Francisco, and campus police said he is currently a City College student.

He was arrested by SFPD, booked as a juvenile at the Mission Police Station and charged with attempted murder. His name was withheld because he is a juvenile.

“It appears the incident took place inside City College,” SFPD spokesman Sgt. Mike Andraychak said.

Andraychak said the stabbing was not gang related, but the reason for the attack was not entirely clear.

The incident apparently began as an argument between two students and then escalated into violence. In a police report, one witness said she saw three or four men arguing in the hall on the first floor of the Mission campus before the attack.

The victim called 911 at 7:21 p.m. The dispatcher relayed the call and reported a male stabbed in the back. At least five police vehicles responded to the call and arrived on the 100 block of Bartlett Street where they found the victim injured and bleeding. An officer said in the police report he saw what looked like four to five stab wounds. The officers administered aid until medical units arrived.

The police followed a trail of blood back to the Mission campus. Inside they found more blood and reported that the stabbing occurred on the first floor.

City College Police Chief Andre Barnes released a report to faculty members that stated the stabbing occurred several blocks away from campus and that “at no time was there any threat to the campus community.”

The report said the suspect only came on campus to use the restroom in an attempt to clean up, but was then arrested later after leaving campus.

But emails from City College faculty who were present at the time of the stabbing described the argument and the stabbing as happening right outside their classrooms. The teachers and students were scared, according to the emails.

Counseling services for students and teachers will be available if needed, according to a memo released by Vice Chancellor Jorge Bell. Bell also stated in the memo that “the fact that the Mission campus is considered a neutral zone and that the campus was open at the time of the incident may have saved the victim’s life.”

City College Police Public Information Officer Rachele Hakes said she couldn’t comment because the case is an ongoing SFPD investigation. However, she did speculate on the considered neutrality of the Mission campus mentioned by Bell in his memo.

“I don’t think any place in the world is considered a neutral zone,” Hakes said.

Email:
brinker@theguardsman.com