SAN JOSE >> Police arrested five suspects in the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy on Valentine’s Day at Santana Row, San Jose Police Department Chief Paul Joseph announced at a press conference Monday.

David Gutierrez, 15, was on a Valentine’s Day date with his girlfriend when he was allegedly approached by five juveniles and fatally stabbed. The five suspects — including a 13-year-old who stabbed Gutierrez, as well as three 16-year-olds and an 18-year-old who allegedly assaulted Gutierrez — are believed to be part of a gang and confronted Gutierrez without provocation, Joseph said.

It was a “totally random attack,” Joseph said, adding that Gutierrez was not a gang member and was “just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“This act was as senseless as it is heartbreaking,” Joseph said. “It was a tragedy that has shaken our community, and it demands that we speak honestly about the challenges we face in our juvenile justice system.”

Gutierrez was allegedly confronted by the five suspected gang members, who questioned him about his gang affiliation and actively sought a fight, Joseph said. Gutierrez ran away from the group but was pursued by a 13-year-old boy from Campbell, who allegedly stabbed him multiple times.

The incident occurred around 7:15 p.m. on the 300 block of Santana Row, where diners out to eat for Valentine’s Day had full view of the attack through restaurant windows. Police had initially been called for reports of a fight but arrived to find the boy suffering at least one stab wound. The suspects fled before officers arrived.

Gutierrez’s girlfriend, witnesses and officers attempted to provide first aid at the scene, Joseph said. Gutierrez was then transported to Valley Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries.

SJPD arrested four of the five suspects on Feb. 20, including the 13-year-old and three 16-year-old males from San Jose. The 13-year-old was booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of homicide and felony assault. The 16-year-olds were booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of felony assault.

On Feb. 21, police arrested 18-year-old Emanuel Sanchez-Damian from Campbell, who was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of felony assault, Joseph said.

Joseph said that, if convicted, the 13-year-old would likely be sentenced to no more than eight months in an “unlocked ranch facility.” Those under the age of 14 are not sent to juvenile hall, he added.

“Locking up young people for long periods of time for minor offenses does more harm than good,” Joseph said. “However, while we sought to protect our youth from the long-term harms of incarceration for lesser crimes, we’ve unintentionally created a system that, in certain severe cases like this, provides virtually no meaningful consequences for the most violent and brutal cases.”

Joseph referred to cases of adults recruiting underage people to “commit horrific acts of violence on their behalf.

“Why?” Joseph asked; “Because they know that a 17-year-old, 15-year-old or — yes — even a 13-year-old is unlikely to face consequences anywhere near as severe as an adult would for the very same crime.”

Mayor Matt Mahan echoed Joseph’s concerns about the way California’s justice system holds juvenile offenders accountable, adding that about 30% of gang-related incidents in recent months were committed by people under 18.

“I’m concerned that if we don’t change the way our justice system holds young offenders accountable, we may be creating a perverse incentive for gangs to recruit children at younger and younger ages,” he said. “Our worst gangs’ weapon of choice is increasingly becoming children. They’re handing kids the gun, the knife, the bag of stolen goods because they know they will face little consequence.”

Joseph added that he believes the low consequences are encouraging youth to commit crimes more frequently.

Greg Woods, a senior lecturer in justice studies at San Jose State University, explained that California’s juvenile justice system is predicated on the idea that juveniles are “inherently salvageable,” with a focus on providing services such as counseling and preventing the juvenile from becoming a repeat offender. Many juvenile cases, he added, are tried under the health and welfare code as opposed to the criminal code, a move that comes with a separate selection of punishments.

“It’s almost like a completely different way of interpreting (the) same set of factors,” he said. “When we talk ourselves out of even concluding that it’s a crime to begin with but an expression of delinquency that then requires our assistance so that we might correct the juvenile so that they will never replicate the behavior again, then that shifts the responsibility to the county or the state.”

The case marked San Jose’s third homicide of 2025.

“While we should never return to the days of relying solely on incarceration, we cannot ignore the alarming reality that our current system is failing to hold juvenile offenders accountable, even when a life is taken and his lack of accountability is directly making our communities less safe,” Joseph said. “(Gutierrez’s) life, his family and our community deserve a system of justice that weighs all the facts and imposes sentences that reflect the gravity of such a brutal crime.”