Police arrest two teens in Dublin High School beating

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Dublin Police Services on Friday announced the arrests of an 18-year-old man and 17-year-old boy in the attack on a Dublin High School student, reportedly connecting more dots in the high-profile assault in a campus locker room from two weeks earlier.

The police investigation alleges conflicts between a female relative of the 17-year-old arrestee and the victim escalated into a confrontation after school at Dublin High involving the girl’s mother and ultimately the beating by up to four teenage individuals on Aug. 23.

“Dublin Police Services’ School Resource Officers are leading the investigation and are continuing to identify the additional suspects, locate further video footage, and gather witness leads, as well as determining a motive for the attack,” Capt. Miguel Campos said in a press release on Friday (Sept. 6).

“The female student and her mother were not involved in the physical attack and, at this time, it does not appear the mother coordinated the attack,” Campos added.

The captain said investigators arrested 18-year-old Gerald Coats, a former Dublin Unified School district student, on suspicion of felony assault, child abuse and trespassing as well as a 17-year-old former DUSD student, whose name was not released, on suspicion of felony assault.

Police reported that Coats might be acquainted with the victim – whom police previously described as 15 years old, but his mother has told other local news media including KTVU that he is a 14-year-old freshman at Dublin High.

The assault on Aug. 23 made headlines across the Bay Area and beyond, in part with principal Maureen Byrne initially — and apparently incorrectly — stating the assailants were five adults who made their way onto the campus and with the fight having been broken up by the football team, including head coach Napoleon Kaufman, a former NFL running back.

In a statement four days after the attack, police countered the principal’s assertion by saying there were four unidentified assailants – likely all teenagers between 16-19 years old – and the parent involved in the initial argument at the school did not enter the boys’ locker room and participate in the beating.

Revealing more details from the DPS investigation, Campos said on Friday that there had been previous conflicts between the victim and the female student, and the girl and her mother confronted the victim about the conflicts that afternoon. The girl and her mother did not take part in the ensuing physical attack, according to the captain.

The boy sought refuge in the locker room but was followed and beaten by four individuals wearing hoodies just before 3:30 p.m. until members of the football team and coaching staff broke it up and the culprits ran away, police and school officials previously reported. The victim sustained face and head injuries, getting transported to an area hospital for treatment and released that afternoon, police said.

Campos said the investigation remains active and anyone with information, including video footage, should contact DPS at 925-933-6670.