Sonoma Valley High School’s alleged ‘fugitive night’ hazing injures student

A Sonoma seventh grader and her friends were crossing Broadway on their way to a friend’s house at about 9:30 p.m. Friday when they heard two cars barreling down the street headed toward Sonoma Plaza.

“They start running toward the Square ... and (people in the vehicles) start shooting at them,” said the seventh grader’s mother, Rachel Pedersen, who asked that her daughter not be identified. “One of her friends fell to the ground and went on the grass. Another friend hid behind the bushes.”

Paintballs and airsoft pellets sprayed from the car, striking Pedersen’s daughter in her upper right thigh, causing a golf ball-sized bruise, while another member of the group was hit with an airsoft pellet.

The incident was part of the high school hazing ritual known as “Fugitive Night” where rising high school seniors prey on incoming freshman as they race from the Plaza to Sonoma Valley High School four blocks away. As middle schoolers, the group of children were collateral damage, their parents believe, after learning about the ritual.

Parents of one of the children from the group saw the incident and attempted to chase after the cars, yelling at them as they drove away, Pedersen said.

“The thing that's so terrifying about this is... it's not a school-sanctioned event,” Pedersen said. “The school said they don't want the kids doing it. But there's no repercussions if they do.”

Sonoma Police took Pedersen’s statement but there was no suspect information with the case and only a vehicle description of an SUV. Sonoma Police did not respond to the Index-Tribune’s questions by presstime.

Pedersen is now considering filing an official compliant with the Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.