I hope these weren't our swords. Y'all know that our swords can only be used for good, right?
Hero teacher 'didn't have time to think'
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
(08-25) 10:21 PDT SAN MATEO --

In the moments after a young man detonated two pipe bombs at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, English language development teacher Kennet Santana didn't have time to think about what he should do.

Instinctively, as students crouched for cover in their classrooms, Santana, 34, moved toward the explosions. He was confronted with the sight of the youth, wearing a tactical vest with what turned out to be eight other pipe bombs.

The teacher didn't know the devices were bombs. He also didn't know that the suspect, identified as a 17-year-old former student at Hillsdale, was armed with a chainsaw and a sword with a 2-foot blade.

All Santana knew was that this boy was a threat - and that he had to stop him. Without hesitation, Santana tackled the boy shortly after 8 a.m. Monday and yelled at other teachers to call for help. Principal Jeff Gilbert, counselor Ed Canda and Santana held the teenager down until police arrived.

Now, the campus community and authorities are crediting Santana with helping to avert what could have been a disaster: A law-enforcement source said the boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, nursed a grudge against some teachers and had planned to detonate all 10 pipe bombs before attacking students with the chain saw and the sword as they fled.

Santana had just arrived at school and was heading to the office when the attack began.

"It just happened so fast. He didn't even think about it," said his wife, Angelique Vega-Santana, 35.

"Of course I'm proud. The first thing, though, that went through my head was fear, terror of what could have gone wrong," she said. "When I read what the kid actually had and what he was planning to do, the whole thing kind of overwhelmed me, and it's still fresh."

Hillsdale remains closed today while officials clean up from Monday's incident, but Santana was back at work and meeting with other staffers.

Vega-Santana said her husband, who has taught at Hillsdale High since 2007, "is the most loyal person I know, and integrity is like his middle name." The couple have a 23-month-old daughter and live in San Francisco.

Classes at Hillsdale will not resume until Wednesday. "The district will need time to examine and repair the site in order to ensure student safety," officials said on the Web site of the San Mateo Union High School District. Those who left belongings on campus will be able to pick them up once the "site is secured," officials said.

Students, parents and staffers who need a place to go today can report to the San Mateo Adult School at 789 East Poplar Ave. Counselors, psychologists and teachers will be available there.

The chaos began shortly after 8 a.m. Monday when the teenager made his way through the school with bombs secured to a tactical vest, said San Mateo Police Chief Susan Manheimer. The youth lit two of the pipe bombs and threw them in a hallway near the school library.

After the suspect was subdued, police descended on the school at 3115 Del Monte St. and evacuated students and staffers to a nearby middle school, then combed the campus in search of more bombs and evidence.

The school year at the 1,200-student campus began last week, and classes had just begun Monday when the youth came onto campus.

Officers cordoned off the youth's San Mateo home in the Villa Serena Apartments on Casa de Campo with crime scene tape and evacuated nearby units for several hours as they searched the suspect's home, neighbors said.

Those neighbors described the teenager as shy and reclusive, saying he rarely ventured outside.

"He was just a really quiet kid. Not many friends. He kept to himself," said April De Guzman, who lives nearby and has known the suspect since middle school.

Neighbors said the boy has lived with his mother and a sister in the complex of two-story, townhouse-style apartments for several years.

"It's strange," said neighbor Annette Stevens. "You never know who's living next door to you."

Chronicle staff writers John Koopman, Kathleen Pender, Jaxon Van Derbeken and John Coté contributed to this report. E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.

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