Full Notification

Today, at approximately 11:37 AM, the Petaluma Police Dispatch Center received multiple emergency phone calls reporting an ‘explosion’ at Kenilworth Junior High School (KJHS) with students running from the school. All available personnel from the Police and Fire Department responded to the school to assist. As officers were arriving, they were informed the explosion was heard near a bathroom next to the quad of the school.
 
School staff evacuated students to the blacktop while officers searched the campus. After an extensive search, it was determined to be an isolated incident inside a boy’s bathroom. The scene was processed by a member of the Petaluma Police Department Crime Scene Investigation’s Team, and the cause of the explosion was believed to be a commercial grade explosive device similar to that of an M-1000.  Luckily, no students or school staff were injured during the incident.
 
This afternoon, after an extensive investigation and the help of school staff, officers were able to identify the two juvenile KJHS students who were responsible for lighting the explosive device. Both students were arrested for the following charges: felony possession of an explosive device, felony vandalism, and conspiracy to commit a crime.
 
During the search of the school, the Petaluma Police Department utilized their specialized K-9 ‘Pinky’. K-9 Pinky is the newest member of the Petaluma Police K-9 Unit. She is a Labrador Pointer mix that is trained to detect and alert to explosives and firearms. We are grateful to have such a resource to help keep our community safe.
 
We would like to thank the school staff for helping keep the students safe and assisting first responders with the search of the school. We would also like to thank those who called 9-1-1 providing timely updates to guide our response. This was an unfortunate incident, and our thoughts go out to the students and school staff.
 
If anyone has additional information, please call 707.778.4372 and reference the report number 24-1432.
     
Media inquiries may be directed to Lieutenant Matthew Parnow at [email protected] or phone 707.781.1204.