Search For Redwood City Teen's Killer Takes Cops To East Bay

BELMONT, CA — Peninsula police are searching the East Bay Tuesday evening for the person responsible for gunning down a teen whose body was found lying in front of a Belmont elementary school. The teen was found late Monday night in the parking lot of Central Elementary School, according to Belmont Police Capt. Patrick Halleran.

Police said family members of the victim called police around 10:55 p.m. Monday requesting a welfare check on the boy, who they believed was at the school in the 500 block of Middle Road. When officers arrived, they found the victim lying in the parking lot at the front of the school, suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

He has not been identified police, but ABC7 News identified him as a senior at Carlmont High School. They said Mohammad Othman was a football player at the school, though he lived in Redwood City.

Authorities believe Othman knew the person who shot him.

"While this investigation is in its beginning phase, detectives are confident that this was not a random crime and the victim and suspect were associated," Halleran said in a news release. "The victim has no relationship to the school where the shooting took place and there is no connection between the school and the crime."

Belmont police have not publicly released any suspect information, but officials were searching the East Bay area of Pleasanton as of Tuesday evening for the suspect, according to reports. Residents reported heavy police activity and several helicopters in the area of Arlington Drive and ABC7 says sources confirmed the heavy police activity is related to the search for Othman's alleged killer.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Belmont police at (650) 595-7400 or police@belmont.gov.

— Bay City News Service contributed to this report / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone