Gun pulled at off-campus location
Police respond to armed incident on Bellomy Street, suspect chargedMallory MillerTHE SANTA CLARANovember 7, 2013A non-affiliate male pointed a loaded handgun at a group of Santa Clara students in the backyard of an off-campus house during the early hours of Friday morning following Halloween festivities.The altercation occurred between the students and four non-affiliate males on the 900 block of Bellomy Street at a house also known as “Hooters.”Members of the Sigma Pi fraternity inside the house rushed outside after hearing an argument and attempted to intervene.The suspects yelled numerous threats toward the students while members of the Sigma Pi fraternity tried to push them away, according to a witness who asked to remain anonymous. One of the suspects brandished a .22-caliber, semi-automatic handgun, and another suspect punched a student multiple times in the face.“My main concern was making sure everyone around me was safe so I wasn’t really thinking about the implications of a gun out in public, (pointed) at me,” said the witness, a senior member of Sigma Pi. “Everything happened very quickly. The guy who actually pulled out the gun was just screaming random things like, ‘I’ll spray this whole party, I’ll shoot all of you.’”Sigma Pi was not hosting a fraternity-sanctioned event or a party at the location of the incident.The suspects fled onto Lafayette Street after the Santa Clara Police Department was called.SCPD arrested one of the suspects, a 20-year-old male, at 12:50 a.m. in front of 540 Lafayette Street, where the handgun was confiscated. Witnesses identified the suspect in custody as one of the non-affiliate males, but not the one who carried the gun.The suspect was charged with battery; resisting arrest; being under the influence of a controlled substance; and possession of controlled narcotics, according to a document provided by SCPD Chief of Police Michael J. Sellers.The suspect was also charged with possession of a short-barreled rifle/shotgun after SCPD discovered a shotgun inside the suspect’s car hours after the handgun was found on Lafayette Street. As of Monday afternoon, the suspect was being held at the Santa Clara County Jail.“I think people at this school kind of live in a bubble and they don’t realize things can happen,” said the witness. “I’ve dealt with fights before, but nothing on this level. Anyone can get into any party and that’s a huge issue.”Contact Mallory Miller at memiller@scu.edu or (408) 554-4852. Nick Ostiller contributed to this report.Correction: November 11, 2013The specific address of the house was removed.