(KRON) -- A 67-year-old man who lives next to an elementary school in Palo Alto has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon after he allegedly shot a pellet gun in the direction of a school employee last week.
On Oct. 14, the Stratford School staff member reported to police that he was walking on campus around 7:10 a.m. when he heard a projectile hit a nearby wall. When he looked where the projectile came from, he saw Bradford Minkoff looking over a fence that separates the school campus at 870 North California Ave. from a residence on Garland Drive, according to the Palo Alto Police Department.
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The employee knew Minkoff from previous “negative interactions,” authorities said. Court records show the school was granted temporary restraining orders against Minkoff in 2024, and just days before this incident, on Oct. 8, 2026.
In September 2021, Minkoff was arrested after allegedly shooting a Stratford School student in the back with a BB gun. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office did not confirm to KRON4 whether Minkoff faced formal charges over the alleged 2021 incident.
Palo Alto PD officers contacted Minkoff at his residence after last week’s alleged shooting. Minkoff surrendered into police custody “after a brief negotiation,” authorities said.
In addition to assault with a deadly weapon, a felony, Minkoff was also charged with willful discharge of a BB device with gross negligence and violation of a protective order, both of which are misdemeanors. He remains in custody without bail.
Minkoff was arraigned on Oct. 16 and is expected back in court on Oct. 26 to enter a plea.
