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By Miriam Raftery
January 8, 2026 (Santee) – It’s been 25 years since 15-year-old Andrew “Andy” Williams shot and killed two students and injured 13 other people at Santana High School in Santee. He was sentence to 50 years to life in prison. But due to a new state law allowing juvenile offenders with life sentences to petition for resentencing, a Superior Court judge has granted a request from Williams’ attorney for a resentencing hearing that is expected to lead to his release, potentially with two years’ probation, over the objections of District Attorney Summer Stephan, who plans to appeal the ruling.
“The decision will result in the defendant being transferred to the juvenile court system and his immediate release from prison without any parole supervision or determination that such a move would not pose a risk to public safety,” Stephan states in a press release. “The DA’s office will immediately file an appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division One, and again try to stop Williams’ release.”
The DA says the defendant’s “cold-blooded attack” has been “forever traumatizing” to the community. She notes that at a parole hearing, he was previously denied parole and found unsuitable for release.
News that Williams may soon be free has sparked outrage from some former Santana students. “Horrific,” Jenna Bollman posted on Facebook at the news” I was under lockdown at Valhalla when this was occurring.”
El Cajon Councilman Phil Ortiz was a student at Santana at the time, heading for a classroom across the hall from the restroom where Williams started firing shots. “Andy should not be released,” Ortiz posted yesterday on Facebook. “We can’t go back in time for Brian and Randy (the two students who died); we shouldn’t be doing it for Andy. One of the victim’s moms is homeless and it destroyed her life One of our classmates killed himself and he referenced the shooting.” Ortiz thanked Stephan for “fighting so hard for the victims and survivors of the Santana High School shooting.”
The mothers of both slain students have long opposed Williams’ release. Michelle Zuckor, mother of Bryan Zuckor, told CBS 8 last year that Williams should never be paroled because “he took my son and he took my son’s future from him.”
Mari Gordon-Rayborn, mother of Randy Gordon, told CBS 8 that the murder “destroyed my family.” She said she suffered PTSD, became too work, and the family lost their home. “I lost my other two kids,” she said, adding that she suffered depression and wound up homeless. “If you don’t have an understanding between right and wrong, I think you’re going to be a reasonable danger to society.”
Williams’ attorney has said that before the shooting, he was bullied at school, suffered divorce of his parents, a cross-country move with his father, and was sexually abused by a man he met while skateboarding who was later convicted of child molestation in another state.
On Facebook after learning that the rehearing will be granted, Williams’ attorney Laura Sheppard wrote, “As tragic as his crime was, this 15-year-old kid should not have received a lengthy adult sentence. I’m grateful he’ll now get a chance to rebuild his life, after serving 25 years imprisonment.
But DA Stephan counters, “Many school shooters are young, so what message does our legislature want to give them to deter them from carrying out horrific shootings?”
Williams himself has said that on the day of the shooting, he felt suicidal and wanted to be killed by police, but ultimately changed his mind and surrendered.
In prison, he wrote letters to families of his victims expressing remorse and apologizing for his actions. He earned his high school diploma and associate degrees, was working on a bachelor’s degree as of last year, and has become a certified substance abuse counselor and offender-mentor counselor helping inmates overcome addiction and other issues.
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