SAN JOSE -- A San Jose police officer was killed Tuesday evening in a dramatic series of events that began with a call about a suicidal man and turned into a massive manhunt for someone police said ambushed officers, firing at them with a high-powered rifle.
The killing of the unnamed officer in the line of duty was the first in the department in 14 years.
The slain officer, whose identity was not immediately released, was the 12th SJPD officer killed in the department's 166-year history.
A San Jose police officer was shot and killed after exchanging gunfire with a suspect Tuesday night. (Josie Lepe / Mercury News)
Police launched a massive manhunt after the attack with a detail consisting of dozens of officers and the MERGE (SWAT) unit, who all swarmed the area of Senter and Umbarger roads to find the gunman. Nearby homes were evacuated as officers and equipment -- including armored vehicles and a helicopter -- were summoned from neighboring police agencies, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale police, and the California Highway Patrol.
Police said they had surrounded a building in the 2600 block of Senter Road as of about 9:30 p.m. An exchange of gunfire was reported in the area earlier during the search.
Residents were advised to shelter in place shortly before 8:30 p.m. as the search intensified, with traffic completely blocked on Senter Road from Feldspar Drive to Lewis Road.
Dozens of people gathered near the scene despite the shelter-in-place order, watching as police helicopters circled overhead during the search.
San Jose officers were initially called at 6:48 p.m. for reports of a man with a gun threatening to kill himself. As the officers strategically approached the apartment building on Senter Road, they were fired upon without warning, possibly from a balcony. Sources said the shooting suspect was believed to be a man in his 50s who lived in the building.
San Jose police were searching for a suspect who shot an officer Tuesday night. (Josie Lepe / Mercury News)
An outpouring of grief flowed from both members of the public and law enforcement agencies throughout California and across the nation Tuesday night. Hundreds of social media users sent their condolences to San Jose police through the department's Twitter account.
"We were in the evening (City Council) session; it had just started," said Councilman Tam Nguyen, who represents District 7, where the shooting occurred. "We heard the news, the mayor had a private conference and we canceled the meeting."
"It's extremely painful and shocking. ... I'm worried for the safety of other officers, he's still at large and still very dangerous."
Tam said he lived in the neighborhood and was not going home because of the manhunt, but driving around and waiting to hear more from police.
"I want to let them concentrate on their own safety and the safety of others," he said.
The last San Jose police officer killed in the line of duty was Officer Jeffrey Fontana, a rookie cop who was shot to death during a high-risk vehicle stop in South San Jose on October 28, 2001. Before that, in October 1999, Officer Desmond Casey died after the police helicopter he was piloting crashed.
Staff writer Eric Kurhi contributed to this report.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1ER7UPS
0 comments:
Post a Comment