Unidentified Person Shoots Student with Pellets

15 people were hit by pellets shot by an unidentified person in a car on Campolindo Drive on March 3. Of these people, many included Campolindo students. According to victims, the pellets were either shot by an airsoft or BB gun. The Moraga Police Department is still investigating further on the incident.

2 students who witnessed the shooting prefer to remain anonymous, and will be referred to as Student A and Student B. According to Student A, they and Student B were walking from Rheem Valley Shopping Center to Campo after school on March 3. “…This small red car started making a sound like it was backfiring. But when we looked, we realized that it was a white male with long brown hair that was shooting what could have been an airsoft gun or BB gun. And [Student B] was closer to the car and [their] shoulder got hit several times.”

Though Student B was not seriously injured, they did feel the effects of the pellets for a few hours after. “I don’t feel unsafe, but I feel like I could’ve potentially been unsafe. But I don’t necessarily feel unsafe, [but] I just think of different scenarios of what could have happened if it was actually…a real gun.”

Student A explained, “[As Student B wasn’t seriously injured], we weren’t sure whether we should take it to the police or not… we were going to report it to [the Bias Incident Report Team (BIRT)] because we weren’t sure whether it was bias or not…when we went to BIRT, it said if you wanted a more immediate response to reach out to [Assistant Principal Stacy] Southern which we did…and [to Principal John] Walker.”

Student A felt “distress[ed]” after the incident. “It looked like [the shooter] was laughing as he was shooting at us,” they said.

According to Walker, he was 1st notified by a parent on March 3 that 2 students were hit. Later, he was informed by Track and Field coach Charles Woolridge that athletes on his team were hit as well.

“I called the police as soon as I heard about the incident,” Walker added. “[The police] have launched a full investigation including student interviews, staff interviews and it’s an ongoing investigation is my understanding.”

Sophomore Cale Anderson was 1 of the Track and Field athletes hit. He recalls “over a dozen people” on his team were shot. “[The shooter] sprayed the side of the fence hitting me and then also found out later, 2 other kids in the running group,” said Anderson. “I didn’t receive any really bad injuries, there [were] shallow bruises. However, some of the members on the team did receive big sized welts, almost half an inch.”

Anderson searched for the plate number in the Campo parking lot after his team was shot and gave the police an accurate description of the car, however the police announced later that the plate number that he got was not correct.

Although the police have not yet caught the shooter, Walker remains “optimistic [that they’ll catch the culprit]. I’m in regular communication with Moraga PD about many things related to student safety including this…I’m also really appreciative of [the police’s] response. They came out and were very quickly engaged and helping us.”

“[Student safety] needs to be the highest priority for the school community,” Walker added. “It’s keeping our students and staff safe in an incident like this. It’s extraordinarily scary. If a pellet was to hit someone’s eye then [that’s] a serious medical issue, so safety needs to be our highest concern. This incident was [scary because] students did not know exactly what was happening. And I’m very grateful that nobody was seriously injured.”

In response to this incident, police vigilance around campus has increased. “They wanted to have some extra or additional patrol around campus for a few days, which I appreciated because it was a scary situation,” Walker said.