Man arrested in fatal stabbing of boy, 9, in Discovery Bay

William Schultz William Schultz Photo: Contra Costa Sheriff's Departmen Photo: Contra Costa Sheriff's Departmen Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Man arrested in fatal stabbing of boy, 9, in Discovery Bay 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A 9-year-old boy was stabbed to death Sunday morning in Discovery Bay, and an 18-year-old man was taken into custody in connection with the incident, authorities said.

Deputies responding to a stabbing on the 1900 block of Frost Way found that Jordon Almgren had been taken John Muir Health Outpatient Center in Brentwood by a family member and was later declared dead, authorities said. The boy was a third-grader at Timber Point Elementary School in Discovery Bay.

The sheriff’s office identified Discovery Bay resident William Schultz as the suspect in the killing. He was not immediately located, but a nurse at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Antioch saw a social media post with the suspect’s picture and realized that he was being treated at the hospital’s emergency room for an undisclosed reason, authorities said.

Deputies responded to the hospital and took Schultz into custody.

Authorities said Schultz was a friend of Jordon’s older brother.

“This wasn’t a random act. This wasn’t some sort of stranger that came into the home and murdered a child. This was a family friend,” Sheriff’s Lt. Ken Westermann told reporters. Westermann said investigators were looking into the possibility that Schultz was suffering from an unspecified mental condition.

Investigators were trying to establish a motive in the stabbing. Deputies were told on the police radio that the victim had been stabbed in the neck. Deputies had also been called to the home on Saturday on a request for a psychological evaluation of Schultz, authorities said.

Jill Tucker and Henry K. Lee are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: jtucker@sfchronicle.com and hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker @henryklee