ROME (AP) – Santa Barbara City College issued a statement saying 18-year-old Gabriel Christian Natale-Hjorth just finished his first year at the school.
A spokesperson for SBCC, Luz Reyes-Martin, said Natale-Hjorth attended the college but there was no record of 19-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder, the other teen arrested in connection with the death, “having been actively enrolled” at the school.
Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley also issued a statement, confirming both teens graduated in 2018.
“We were stunned to learn that two members of our community were arrested in connection to the killing of a policeman in Rome,” Tamalpais High School principal J.C. Farr said in a statement. Farr said the school “can add no additional information, other than offering sincere condolences to the family and friends who lost a loved one in this tragic situation.”
Natale-Hjorth and Elder remain in custody after officer Mario Cerciello Rega was stabbed to death while looking into an alleged drug deal.
An Italian police commander said Natale-Hjorthwas illegally blindfolded before he was interrogated about the stabbing.
Italian newspapers published a photo of the teen blindfolded with what appears to be a scarf while handcuffed at the police station.
