MH driver injured in wreck that leads to lockdown at Gilroy
school
Jackson Elementary School in northwest Morgan Hill was locked down for 20 minutes Thursday afternoon after what appeared to be gunfire was heard in the neighborhood surrounding the school.
Principal Karen Tavares said fourth, fifth and sixth grade students were outdoors taking part in a softball tournament when teacher Loren Lewandowski heard what he thought was the sound of a pellet gun discharge and saw birds flying away from a tree. He heard a second discharge seconds later, she said.
Students were rushed into the school by teachers, and the school was locked down at approximately 1:45pm.
“I’m so proud of my staff and really appreciate the way the police responded,” Principal Karen Tavares said Thursday afternoon.
Morgan Hill Police officers, including Chief Bruce Cumming, searched the area. The lockdown was lifted at 2:05pm, just in time for dismissal, after officers found no sign of anyone with a weapon.
Later, officers located an adult with a BB gun at a residence with a yard that backed up to the school property at 2700 Fountain Oaks Drive, said MHPD Lt. Joe Sampson said.
Masao Kuwano, 67, of 16665 Trail Drive, had apparently been shooting at pigeons. He was cited for firing a gun within city limits, a municipal code violation, Sampson said.
Although the Jackson students were not in danger, Sampson said, the school acted appropriately in initiating the lockdown.
“This is exactly how it’s supposed to work,” he said.
Tavares said parents who arrived during the lockdown to pick up their children were told about the possible gunfire. A note was sent home Friday with students outlining what happened during the incident.
Just over a year ago, a group of teenagers with replica guns on the Jackson campus after school hours were nearly shot by police officers as they ran away instead of stopping when officers called to them.
In Gilroy, students at Ascension Solorsano were locked down Thursday morning after a man driving a stolen truck fled toward the campus after crashing into two vehicles stopped at a light near the school, police said.
A Morgan Hill man whose car was struck at the intersection of Club Drive and Santa Teresa Boulevard was taken to Saint Louise Regional Hospital with minor injuries.
Kirk Grant, 74, was visibly shaken after the accident in which his vehicle was struck. He complained of pain in his lower legs, back, neck and head.
He was released that afternoon after treatment at Saint Louise Medical Center in Gilroy.
Gilroy police surrounded the immediate area and brought out the police K9 unit. About 1pm police apprehended 44–year-old Felix Arnaz of San Jose in a home near Kentwood Court and Westwood Drive.
Witnesses said Arnaz got out of the truck after the accident – in which he did not appear to brake – and ran into towards Uvas Creek behind the school.
Arnaz, a parolee, was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of stealing an automobile, violating parole, a hit and run felony, possession of a controlled substance – methamphetamine – two counts of illegal trespassing and one count of burglary.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her by e-mail at md****@mo*************.com or phoning (408) 779-4106, ext. 202.
