A teenager was on a Valentine’s Day date with his girlfriend when a group of teens attacked and stabbed him to death, his heartbroken family revealed.
San Jose police responded to a report of a fight on Santana Row around 7.15 p.m. Friday, when they discovered 15-year-old David Gutierrez had suffered at least one stab wound. They tried to perform life-saving measures at the scene before the teen was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
He was attacked by a “group of juveniles,” in which he was “beaten and then stabbed in the heart,” his family said in a GoFundMe page.
As of Sunday, the suspects were unidentified. They fled the scene before police arrived.
“Our precious young boy is an amazing young man whose life was taken too soon at the young age of 15,” Gutierrez’s relatives said in a statement to ABC7. “He was enrolled in college-bound classes to help him prepare for college. He was active in the community church activities.”
The 15-year-old was “kind, empathetic, with a gentle demeanor,” the family said. “He was his family’s happy energy, whenever he walked into a room it simply lit up.”
The teen’s boxing instructor Berto Barrita told the outlet that “he was a good kid” and was outgoing and friends with everyone at Gladiators Boxing Gym in Redwood City.
“He joined because a lot of his friends would come here too and he just wanted to be with his friends, hang out, and box,” Barrita said.
The fundraiser surpassed its $20,000 goal; as of Tuesday morning it has garnered $23,000 in contributions. All of the donations will go toward his funeral expenses, the page read.
Police are investigating the motive and circumstances around the incident. The Independent has reached out to San Jose police for more information.
The family are perplexed as to why anyone would have wanted to attack him, telling ABC7: “We are at a complete loss and trying to process this incomprehensible act of violence.”
