Father speaks about student hitting his son with fire extinguisher at Elk Grove school
The father of a 15-year-old Monterey Trail High School student said his son was hit on the head with a fire extinguisher in a “premeditated attack” hours after a fellow student harassed him in an attempt to steal his sneakers.
Deputies on Wednesday arrested the Monterey Trail High student suspected of attacking Kawame Curry’s son. The other boy, also 15 years old, was arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide in connection with an assault on the Elk Grove campus. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office did not release the name of the arrested student because he is a minor.
Curry said he’s sickened after watching video of the attack that was shared online, including video recorded by one of the arrested student’s friends.
“My son was in line waiting to get his lunch. He took the fire extinguisher out of the bag, and hit my son on the head with the fire extinguisher,” Curry told The Sacramento Bee in a phone interview Thursday.
Curry said his son was released from the hospital overnight and was at home resting. Doctors have instructed the father on how to monitor his son for any concussion symptoms.
“He’s doing as well as he can,” Curry said. “He still has a lot of pain and he still having headaches.”
The Sheriff’s Office has not released any details about what circumstances might have led to the school assault. Shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday, Monterey Trail High School officials called for medics to come to the campus for a report of a 15-year-old boy having trouble breathing, sheriff’s officials said.
Medics arrived at the school at the same time as the injured student’s parent, who took the teen to a hospital for medical evaluation. Curry said a friend of his family called him and told him his son had been attacked at the school.
The Sheriff’s Office, which provides school resource officers for Monterey Trail High and the rest of the Elk Grove Unified School District, launched an investigation.
Deputies spoke to witnesses, and their preliminary investigation indicated the injured student “had suffered multiple blunt force trauma to the upper body by another 15-year-old male student,” according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff’s officials said the deputies reviewed video that showed the assault by the fellow student, who was identified as the suspect and arrested on an attempted homicide charge. The student was booked at the Sacramento County Juvenile Hall.
Video showing the school assault was shared online. The video shows one student walking in the cafeteria with someone else following him and using profanity as the student reached into a bag and pulled out the fire extinguisher.
The video then shows the student swinging the fire extinguisher overhand, hitting the other student from behind. The victim then fell on his back to the floor before the suspect hit him again on the head with the fire extinguisher.
ABC 10 obtained the video and posted a screenshot of the suspect holding the fire extinguisher in his hand moments before the assault. ABC 10 did not share the disturbing video.
Curry said the confrontation began in the morning, when the other student began harassing his son in an attempt to take his sneakers from him. He said his son confronted the other student and “got in his face” and pushed the other boy back to stop the harassment.
He said his son grabbed his bag and walked away. The two boys then went to their second period P.E. class, but there was nothing said between the boys and no confrontation there, Curry said.
Curry said he has now learned that one of the other student’s friends grabbed a fire extinguisher from across campus and hid it inside a bag before they walked into the cafeteria that afternoon. He said they were looking for his son, and the friend started recording video in anticipation of the violent attack.
“It was premeditated. That boy knew what he was doing,” Curry said about the student who assaulted his son.
He said his son has never had any contact with the other student before Wednesday; he didn’t know the other boy.
Monterey Trail High Principal Lara Ricks said harming someone with a dangerous object can result in serious consequences up to expulsion and arrest.
“Swift and appropriate action was taken by school officials and law enforcement to secure the situation and to care for the victim by contacting emergency responders,” Ricks said in a letter to parents on Wednesday.
Xanthi Soriano, an Elk Grove Unified spokeswoman, said the assault is “very concerning,” and school officials are working closely with law enforcement on a full investigation. School counselors and a crisis response team are available to offer students emotional support if needed, and there will be an increased presence of sheriff’s deputies at the campus over the next few days.
“The gravity of the situation is significant and our top priority is returning MTHS to its typical balance of safety, a welcoming environment and a high quality learning experience for all students,” Soriano said Thursday in a email to The Bee.
Investigators asked anyone who witnessed this assault or has cell phone video of it to call the Sheriff’s Office at 916-874-5115 or Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at 916-443-4357. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling 916-874-8477 or by filling out the Sheriff’s Office online tip form.
This story was originally published August 18, 2022 at 2:33 PM.
