15-Year-Old Was ‘Brutally Stabbed’ in the Heart and Killed by 13-Year-Old, Police Say

• David Gutierrez was brutally stabbed in a fatal attack by five teenage boys on Friday, Feb. 14
• By Friday, Feb. 21, the five suspects – a 13-year-old, an 18-year-old and three 16-year-old teens – were arrested
• On Monday, Feb. 24, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said the suspects were all affiliated with a gang, and the 13-year-old was the suspect who fatally stabbed the victim

Five teenagers have been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old David Gutierrez, San Jose, Calif. police said in a press conference and press release on Monday, Feb. 24.

Gutierrez, who was not affiliated with a gang, was on a date with his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day when he was confronted “in a random attack” by the suspects, San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said during the press conference.

The victim was then “brutally stabbed” by one of them by a 13-year-old boy, the youngest of the suspects, Joseph said during a press conference. He added that the five suspects are believed to be gang members.

The remaining suspects are three 16-year-old juveniles and 18-year-old Emanuel Sanchez-Damian.

The suspects were allegedly dressed in gang colors. They “were believed to be actively seeking a confrontation” the night they approached Gutierrez. Once they encountered Gutierrez, they asked him about gang involvement and then allegedly assaulted him.

Gutierrez escaped and tried to run away, but the 13-year-old suspect chased him, caught up to him and stabbed him multiple times, police said. Gutierrez was administered first aid by his girlfriend, nearby witnesses and first responders. He was then taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The five teen suspects fled the scene before authorities arrived.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, the four juvenile suspects were arrested. “The 13-year-old was booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall for murder and felony assault,” per the San Jose Police Department press release. The three 16-year-old juveniles were booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall for felony assault.

Sanchez-Damian was arrested on Friday, Feb. 21, and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for felony assault.

If the 13-year-old is convicted, he will likely spend less than eight months in a ranch-like institution for juveniles, Joseph said during the Monday press conference.

“To be clear, I believe California was right to reform the juvenile justice system,” Joseph said. “Locking up young people for long periods of time for minor offenses does more harm than good. We’ve learned through research, experience and community efforts that rehabilitation and second chances must be central goals when dealing with juveniles.”

He continued: “However, while we sought to protect our youth from the long-term harms of incarceration for lesser crimes, we’ve unintentionally created a system that in certain severe cases like this provides virtually no meaningful consequences for the most violent and brutal cases.”

“This senseless act of violence took the life of a young boy who had no known gang ties and was simply trying to enjoy an evening out,” Joseph said, adding that Gutierrez was “tragically just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“This act was as senseless as it is heartbreaking,” Joseph continued. “It was a tragedy that has shaken our community and it demands that we speak honestly about the challenges we face in our juvenile justice system.”

“Frankly, there’s nothing more disturbing than kids killing kids,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said Monday. “No kid should go to the mall and be scared that they’re not going to make it home. David Gutierrez deserved better. He deserved more time. His life was just beginning.”

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“I’m concerned that if we don’t change the way our justice system holds young offenders accountable, then we may be creating a perverse incentive for gangs to recruit children at younger and younger ages,” Mahan said of juvenile justice reform.

“Our worst gangs’ weapon of choice is increasingly becoming children,” Mahan said. “They’re handing kids the gun, the knife, the bag of stolen goods because they know they will face little consequence.”