At least four people were injured in two separate stabbing
incidents Friday night and Morgan Hill police have arrested three
suspects but are still looking for as many as three more.
At least four people were injured in two separate stabbing incidents Friday night and Morgan Hill police have arrested three suspects but are still looking for as many as three more.
A fight in the parking lot of the ampm market on Monterey Road and an alleged assault on a man in the area of Del Monte and Wright avenues later in the evening kept police busy as officers arrested several and were looking for other suspects.
Humberto Gonzalez, 18, of Morgan Hill, was booked into the custody of the Department of Corrections for alleged attempted murder after he was treated at Kaiser Santa Teresa Hospital in south San Jose for a stab wound to the leg.
A 15-year-old boy from Gilroy was booked into Juvenile Hall for alleged assault with a deadly weapon, and a 17-year-old girl from Morgan Hill was booked into Juvenile Hall for battery.
According to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing, police are looking for Alejandro Hernandez, 19, of San Jose. Investigators are seeking a warrant for his arrest for alleged attempted murder. SWAT officers from Morgan Hill and Gilroy arrived at his residence in unincorporated San Jose on Saturday but he had left the home earlier in the day and was not arrested.
According to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing, the initial report of the first stabbing incident came at 9:30 p.m. Friday. Officers arrived at San Luis Way on what they believed was a felony assault. They found two teenage victims, a 17-year-old Morgan Hill boy with critical stab wounds to his chest and a 17-year-old Gilroy boy with multiple stab wounds in his abdomen, legs and arm. While they waited for the arrival of paramedics, officers gave the teens medical assistance.
The Morgan Hill teenager was flown to Valley Medical Center in San Jose by CalStar, and the other boy was taken by ambulance to Regional Medical Center in San Jose.
As the investigation unfolded, officers learned the teenagers were involved in a fight at the ampm market on Monterey Road. The suspects and victims fled the scene in separate vehicles, police believe, and the suspect vehicle has been described by witnesses as a maroon-colored four-door pickup.
Later Friday evening, Kaiser Santa Teresa Hospital officials notified Morgan Hill police that Gonzalez had been treated for a stab wound to his upper leg and told them he was stabbed at a party. Officers later discovered in their investigation that Gonzalez is a suspect in the ampm stabbing, and he was booked into the custody of the Department of Corrections while his wound was treated.
Swing said officers were continuing their investigation of the incident when dispatchers received a call about another stabbing at approximately 11:30 p.m.
They arrived at the El Toro Fire Station on Old Monterey Road to find a 29-year-old San Jose man collapsed in the station garage. He had a stab wound in his abdomen, and police for the second time in the evening called for the CalStar helicopter. Before he was flown to Valley Medical Center, the man told police he was walking near the intersection of Del Monte and Wright avenues when he was approached by two men wearing dark clothing. The men reportedly demanded money, and when the victim refused, they began to fight. According to Swing, the struggle was brief, and the man was stabbed one time after dropping his car keys.
He then walked from the area, which is on the fringes of downtown Morgan Hill, to the fire house at the north end of town.
Police are still investigating both incidents, which are not related, Swing said. The earlier stabbing at the ampm is not believed to be gang related because the suspects do not have known gang ties, he added, but also said investigators are not ruling out the possibility due to statements made at the scene.
The condition of the victims could not be released to medical privacy laws, but Swing said the 17-year-old boy with chest wounds was conscious, and his wounds and the abdomen wound of the 29-year-old man are not life threatening.
Swing said he did not know if Gonzalez had been released from the hospital and booked into Santa Clara County Jail by Monday morning, but added that he has been arrested and is in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
Anyone with information about either incident can contact Morgan Hill police Det. Greg Dini or Det. Brandon Richardson at (408) 779-2101 or Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-STOP.
