Police and family members are searching for answers after a California teen was fatally stabbed.
Dillan Dooling was killed around 11 p.m. on June 2 after leaving a high school graduation party, police said. The Pittman High School graduate died the day after he graduated from the school, and at this time, no suspects have been arrested.
“It is active and ongoing,” Turlock Police Department Sgt. Michael Parmley tells. “Our lead investigator has conducted multiple interviews, and we are still trying to figure out who the suspect or suspects are.”
Parmley says the party was supposed to be “a celebration of some young boys and girls graduating high school.”
The stabbing occurred in Turlock, just a short distance away from the house party.
“The victim was with some other individuals believed to be females,” Parmley says. “As he left the location of the party he was approached by another group of individuals.”
Police said Dooling got into a physical fight with the group of males and “during the fight the victim was stabbed at least one time.”
Pastor Morri Elliot told CBS13 that the teen was murdered defending his girlfriend.
“Dillon didn’t deserve this, and nobody deserves this,” he told the outlet.
Parmley says he couldn’t comment on the motive. “I don’t have a definitive answer,” he says.
The suspects, who were described as white or Hispanic in their teens to early 20s, fled the area.
“I was told they were in dark clothes and driving a dark-colored vehicle,” he says.
Dooling was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries about one hour later. It is unclear if the suspects attended the graduation party.
According to a GoFundMe campaign, Dooling had just graduated from Pitman High School and was “excited to start college, where he planned to attend MJC in the fall.”
“He loved his big family and enjoyed hanging out with his cousins,” according to the campaign. “Dylan could put a smile on anyone’s face with his silly humor and infectious laugh.”
Parmley says the department is asking the public for assistance in solving the brutal murder.
“It is very important to have the public’s assistance,” says Parmley. “With any homicide investigation it is imperative we solve them and bring justice to the family of the victim and to the victim himself. We don’t put up with this type of criminal activity in Turlock.”