Gun Used In Santa Rosa School Shooting Found; Suspect, Victim Tied To Gang Activity

SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- Detectives investigating a shooting outside a high school in Santa Rosa Tuesday have found the handgun used and determined it had been stolen, according to police.

The Santa Rosa Police Department also said Wednesday the shooter and the victim, both students at Ridgway High School, have affiliation with criminal street gangs.

Following the shooting Tuesday morning, investigators determined the gun used in the shooting had been removed from campus; it's believed another student left school with the gun in a backpack. On Tuesday night, detectives found the gun, a .32 caliber Ruger revolver, discarded in a row of bushes along Brittan Lane in Santa Rosa, police said.

Investigators were still trying to determine what the intent was of the student who fled with and discarded the firearm. It had been reported stolen in a residential burglary in 2016.

Police said the gun had two spent cartridges and four live rounds. The victim was shot twice in the upper body after what is believed to be an ongoing dispute between the victim and suspect which culminated in the shooting in front of the school, police said.

Police said that while the investigation showed the shooting was an isolated incident between two students, uniformed officers would be increasing patrols of areas around the schools in the city.

The department also provides school resource officers who patrol the city's campuses daily.

Anyone who may have witnessed Tuesday's shooting and its aftermath was urged to call the Santa Rosa Police Department's Violent Crimes Team at 707-543-4040 or email the police department at srpdinfo@srcity.org.