By Jon Chown
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believe a weapon and ammunition that were recently found on the Aptos High School campus had been left there for weeks following an assault on campus on Dec. 27 during the Christmas break.
A backpack containing a gun and its ammunition was found by local Aptos resident Mike Perez in the trails above Aptos High School Sunday, Jan 18. This is one of the photos he took of the bag.
On Sunday, Jan. 18 local resident Mike Perez was walking his dog when he discovered a backpack containing an assault-style weapon and hundreds of rounds of ammunition on the Aptos High School campus near the baseball field. On Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office released a statement linking the weapon to the altercation at the school in December where two juveniles with guns assaulted another juvenile.
The theory is that the weapon and backpack were dropped there as the assailants ran away. Fingerprints are being analyzed to confirm this, but it could take days before the results are known. An arrest was made in December and the juvenile is still in detention, according to Santa Cruz County Supervisor Kim DeSerpa.
“I’ve been following this very closely,” she said. “I talked to the sheriff earlier today.”
However, conflicting reports from the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the Sheriff’s Office regarding the situation have created confusion for parents, students, the public and local media. Wednesday evening the Sheriff’s Office announced an arrest had been made and local media assumed it was recent and reported it as such, though vaguely. Thursday morning, Sgt. Ryan Farotte clarified the situation.
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There was an incident in late December that involved an assault on the campus where firearms were present but not discharged,” Farotte said. “We believe the gun is related to the assault that happened in December, but we can’t be sure yet. We are still continuing to investigate.”
Meanwhile, PVUSD released two press statements saying the gun was connected to a burglary in December and that authorities had confirmed there was no ongoing threat. The district later issued a third statement saying an arrest had been made, referring to the juvenile’s arrest in December, but without clearly explaining the connection.
According to the district, since the discovery of the gun, law enforcement has conducted extensive safety measures, including comprehensive campus searches supported by a bomb-detection K-9 unit and bomb squad, increased patrols and staffing at schools countywide, and ongoing coordination with the County Office of Education and regional law enforcement partners.
West said he could not share many details because of the ongoing investigation.
Aptos High students and parents remain on edge, and attendance has reportedly dropped significantly. Melody Kent, who has a daughter who is a senior at Aptos High School and a son in eighth grade at Aptos Junior High School, said neither has attended school in recent days.
“I kept my kids home from school again today,” Kent said Wednesday. “I feel like they’re not giving us enough information. I understand it’s an investigation, but what do you do as a parent?”
Kent said she initially thought the incident might have been an attempt to get attention, but became more concerned after seeing images of the weapon and learning about the amount of ammunition found.
“If this is really true, then it’s worse than we thought,” she said.
Kent also said it is long overdue for a new cell tower near Aptos High School. During busy times, she said, reception is limited, making it difficult to send or receive text messages. In the event of a mass-casualty incident, she said, the lack of communication could make the situation even worse.
“It’s nuts,” she said. “Our kids have been taught what to do in active shooter situations since kindergarten. I just hope they figure out what this is about.”