David Gutierrez, a 15-year-old boy from San Jose, California, was enjoying a date with his girlfriend on Valentine's Day. Suddenly, a group of five individuals arrived and attacked Guiterrez out of the blue. One of these individuals, a 13-year-old boy, stabbed Guiterrez to death after he attempted to escape.
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The San José Police Department issued a press release and stated that the attack was gang-motivated. However, they confirmed that David Gutierrez had "no gang affiliation or involvement." San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph stated during a press conference that Gutierrez was involved "in a random attack" carried by the suspects.
Allegedly, the five suspects dressed in gang colors and "were believed to be actively seeking a confrontation," according to Joseph. Reportedly, once confronted, Gutierrez asked them if they were involved with a gang. At that moment, all five began allegedly assaulting him.
David Guitierrez, at a specific moment, successfully escaped from the beatdown, but he was followed by one of the suspects, a 13-year-old boy. Police stated that the 13-year-old unnamed suspect then stabbed him multiple times.
San José Police officers arrived at the scene at around 7:14 p.m. They found Gutierrez with multiple stab wounds with his girlfriend., witnesses, and first responders administering first aid, according to PEOPLE. Gutierrez was transported to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The five suspects fled the scene at the time. Six days later, on February 20, police arrested four underaged suspects, including the 13-year-old who allegedly stabbed Gutierrez to death. The next day, police arrested 18-year-old Emanuel Sanchez-Damian.
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Following David Guiterrez's death, his family members would share a statement with abc7. They described him as "active in the community church activities" and revealed that he was preparing to go to college.
"Our precious young boy is an amazing young man whose life was taken too soon at the young age of 15," the family statement reads.
Berto Barrita, Gutierrez's boxing instructor, spoke heartwarmingly about him.
"He was a good kid, he was outgoing, friends with everybody here, all these young guys here was a friend of his," Barrita said. "Somebody so young and devastating how it went down and all that."
Police Chief Joseph stated during the press conference that the 13-year-old will probably only spend months in a juvenile institution.
"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."
Joseph, however, said that the system, as it is today, does not provide "meaningful consequences for the most violent and brutal cases." He would then describe the incident as "heartbreaking" and named it a "tragedy."
San José Mayor Matt Mahan also addressed the incident, calling it "disturbing."
"No kid should go to the mall and be scared that they're not going to make it home," Mahan said. "David Gutierrez deserved better. He deserved more time. His life was just beginning." He would then express concern over the justice system, similarly to Joseph. To Mahan, a lack of accountability could contribute to gangs recruiting even more and younger children.
A GoFundMe campaign was set up by David's aunt, Diana, to cover his funeral expenses.
