{"id":5729,"date":"2026-07-28T23:38:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5729"},"modified":"2026-07-28T23:38:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T23:38:29","slug":"person-killed-at-morgan-hill-party-was-18-year-old-high-school-senior-family-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5729","title":{"rendered":"Person killed at Morgan Hill party was 18-year-old high school senior, family says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The person killed in a shooting at a Morgan Hill party on Saturday night was a high school senior who loved to play sports and was known for his \u201cbeautiful smile,\u201d his family said.<\/p>\n

Read more Letters: San Jose council should focus on bigger issues than bins<\/a><\/p>\n

Desiderio Romero V, an 18-year-old lifelong resident of San Jose, was fatally shot at the gathering on Saturday, his grandfather Desiderio Romero III confirmed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Desiderio Romero V, who went by \u201cDesi\u201d and was nicknamed \u201cPepper\u201d within his family, was the third of four children and the only son in the family, his grandfather said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe always had a beautiful smile,\u201d Desiderio Romero III said. \u201cHe loved his family and his friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Desiderio Romero V lived with his grandparents, his parents and three sisters from the time he was young, Desiderio Romero III said. He was getting ready to start his senior year of high school in the fall and was trying to figure out whether he wanted to attend college or a trade school.<\/p>\n

The shooting occurred at an unsanctioned party near the intersection of Hale Avenue and Miramonte Avenue in Morgan Hill, an area tucked between fields and a mushroom farm. Police were called to the scene around 10:15 p.m. July 25 after gunshots rang out, sending more than 300 people fleeing.<\/p>\n

Seven people were shot. On Monday, four victims remained hospitalized with gunshot wounds and two victims had been treated and released.<\/p>\n

The incident remains under investigation and authorities have not yet released any information about suspects or arrests.<\/p>\n

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An online fundraiser has been set up on behalf of the Romero family to help pay for funeral and memorial costs.<\/p>\n

A sports lover, Desi played both football and baseball, his grandfather said. In football, he was a running back and cornerback, and in baseball, he played center field, first base, pitcher and catcher. He was coached by both his dad and his grandfather and won district championships.<\/p>\n

Read more Judge tosses most charges in death of Maurice Monk at Santa Rita Jail<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c(As a kid,) he was playing for his dad and some running back from the other team, he was like 40 yards down field, and usually at a five or six-year-old level, the kids just say, \u2018I ain\u2019t going over there,\u2019\u2009\u201d he said. \u201cBut he busted his butt and he tackled the guy at the five-yard line. He didn\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

His grandfather, who was a board member for his grandson\u2019s football club, added that after meetings they would sit together and eat hotdogs with mustard and onion. When the elder Romero stayed late to close down the football field, Desi would often stay with him and the pair would piece together a dinner from whatever was left over in the snack shack.<\/p>\n

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He enjoyed not only playing sports but watching them as well. Desiderio Romero III recently took Desi and his sisters to a Warriors game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wanted a Draymond Green jersey, but I didn\u2019t get it for him because it was the end of the season, and so I go, \u2018We\u2019ll go again,\u2019\u2009\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we never did.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had me (wrapped) around his fingers,\u201d Desiderio Romero III said of his devotion to his grandson.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very protective of his sisters,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s like a brother that\u2019s annoying. He would go and harass them, annoy them, get on their nerves, but they all loved each other. His sisters loved him and he loved them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Desi spent much of the day he died with his grandfather. He mowed the front lawn before his grandfather woke up, then emptied out the recycling, Desiderio Romero III said. He later asked his grandfather to take him to get a haircut, then to the Eastridge Mall to buy a baseball cap and some of their favorite white JCPenney t-shirts, where they also made sure to stop for a frozen yogurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter that, he took a shower and he goes \u2013 he calls me Poppy \u2013 he goes, \u2018Poppy, I\u2019m going to go now,\u2019 and I go, \u2018Okay, be careful,\u2019\u2009\u201d Desiderio Romero III said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe always said, \u2018We love you.\u2019 He used to ask me why I said that. And I used to tell him, \u2018Well, what if I go across the street and I get hit by a car? At least you\u2019ll know that I told you that,\u2019\u2009\u201d he added. \u201cHe was just a good kid at the wrong place at the wrong time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more eBay agrees to pay nearly $50 million to couple sent cockroaches, bloody pig mask<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHe was just a good kid at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said the victim’s grandfather.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nPerson killed at Morgan Hill party was 18-year-old high school senior, family says - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5729\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Person killed at Morgan Hill party was 18-year-old high school senior, family says - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cHe was just a good kid at the wrong place at the wrong time," said the victim's grandfather.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=5729\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-28T23:38:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Person killed at Morgan Hill party was 18-year-old high school senior, family says\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-28T23:38:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729\"},\"wordCount\":779,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/16426eb1a718a26c2c72582c3d87c09d.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=5729\",\"name\":\"Person killed at Morgan Hill party was 18-year-old high school senior, family says - 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