1 dead, 1 arrested in stabbing at Sonoma State University

A “student-aged” man was stabbed to death inside a Sonoma State University dorm Sunday night, officials said.

SSU police officers were called to the Sauvignon Village residential community at 5:53 p.m. for the report of a stabbing. When they arrived on the scene, officers discovered a male body, and arrested a “student-aged” male suspect.

The Petaluma Police Department is assisting the campus police in their investigation.

University officials would not say Sunday night whether the victim or the suspect was enrolled at the university. Both the university and police declined to identify either the victim or suspect or provide any detailed information about the incident.

The stabbing occurred inside the Alicante building bordered by Redwood Circle Drive on the north side.

“There is no risk to students,” SSU spokesman Paul Gullixson said Sunday night. “We have somebody we believe is the potential suspect.”

The Sauvignon Village community is described on the SSU website as a housing option for first-time freshmen at the 9,400-student university. The two-story stucco buildings are divided into four-bedroom, four-bathroom apartments with shared kitchen and living rooms. Students also have access to patios and balconies with sliding glass doors.

On Sunday night, yellow caution tape cordoned off the entrances to the Alicante building, and students living on the second floor were told by police they couldn’t leave. First-floor residents were only allowed to exit or enter through their patio doors, though residential staffers were asking students to remain inside their rooms and not speak with the media.

Roommates Kayla Jordan, 19, and Lisa Rodarmel, 21, live off campus, but came to the university after the stabbing to pick up Rodarmel’s girlfriend, who lives in one of the other buildings in Sauvignon Village.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of scary,” said Rodarmel, a junior. “Everyone’s kind of frantic right now and just worried about what’s going on.”

Final exams begin Monday on the Rohnert Park campus, so students were already on edge before the stabbing happened, said Jordan, a sophomore.

“Yeah, we’re scared,” she said. “Everyone’s asking questions more than anything: What happened? How it happened? Where’d they get the knife? It’s more stress … that we have to worry about this now.”

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 707-521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.