PORTERVILLE, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — A standing ovation Tuesday night in Porterville for those who took action when a Monache High School student was stabbed last month.
“Their courage, dedication, and commitment provided security to all the students and others in our community and made a profound difference that day, which could’ve been extremely worse,” Porterville Chief of Police Jack Castellow said.
Police say 19-year-old Noah Serrate got on campus the morning of May 19th, walked into a classroom, and stabbed a 15-year-old girl.
“The victim did not know the suspect, and it did appear to be a random attack,” Chief Castellow explained.
The incident happened in Robert Sundre’s classroom.
“I saw this kid out of the corner out of my eye. Suspicious right off the bat. Hoodie, mask on his face, and I saw his arm go down, and as soon as that happened, I reacted,” Sundre recalled.
Sundre grabbed a chair and charged the suspect.
“I was just rushing him as fast as I could, and he saw me and he dropped the knife and started running,” Sundre said.
Chief Castellow applauded Sundre’s quick action.
“This act caused the suspect to cease his attack and undoubtedly saved the student’s life and other students in that classroom,” Chief Castellow stated.
After the suspect ran, Sundre turned to the victim, and staff called 911.
“I put pressure on her leg where she was cut and talked to her and calmed her down, and she was just amazing,” Sundre explained.
Sundre says the teen went back to visit the class last week.
“She seemed to be doing pretty good. She had a lot of friends around her, so that was good. She had a lot of support from her friends,” Sundre said.
While all are grateful for the quick response, they wish the incident had never happened at all.
The suspect, Serrate, is currently in custody with no bail.
He faces multiple charges, including attempted murder.
He pleaded not guilty last month and is expected back in court mid-July.
