Football coach shot breaking up fight at high school, CA cops say. ‘Enough is enough’
A football coach was shot while trying to break up a fight at a Bay Area high school, California authorities say.
Police were dispatched after reports of a shooting at a high school around 4 p.m. Sept. 13, according to a news release from the Vallejo Police Department. Vallejo is about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco.
Authorities said a fight between several students and “some unknown males” had broken out in front of Vallejo High School. An employee at the school broke up the fight.
That’s when some of the people involved fled in a sedan, while opening fire back toward the group, authorities said. The staff member was hit by at least one of the shots, police said.
The victim of the shooting has been identified as Joseph Pastrana, the defensive coordinator for the high school’s football team, according to KTVU and the Vallejo Times-Herald. Officials said he was sent to a local hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound.
A video of the incident posted by KTVU on Twitter shows groups of students shouting. Gunshots can be heard and students begin to run in different directions.
As per protocol, the high school’s campus was put on lock down after the incident, officials said. At the time of the shooting, there was a college fair, a few classes in session and about 200 student-athletes on campus.
“This is a senseless act of violence committed by some individuals who do not value human life,” said Police Chief Shawny Williams, according to the news release. “Enough is Enough. It’s a sad day when anyone is shot in front of our children at school where they should feel safe.”
The high school planned to have more site safety officers on campus along with”a Vallejo Police Department presence”, officials said.
The shooting remains under investigation. Anyone with information involving this case is asked to call the Vallejo Police Department Detective Division at 707-648-4524.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Football coach shot breaking up fight at high school, CA cops say. ‘Enough is enough’."