SAN JOSE — A San Jose police sergeant is “doing well and is in good spirits” after his head was grazed by a bullet Wednesday afternoon during a close-range gunfight with a carjacking suspect who had already been in multiple shootouts with law enforcement across the region and who later died after he was shot and run over by a police SUV at a downtown intersection.
The police department gave the condition update Thursday morning and scheduled an afternoon press conference to discuss the chase and shooting, which unfolded over a nearly two-hour stretch Wednesday spanning Hollister to San Jose. Law-enforcement sources confirmed that the wounded sergeant underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture.
Sources also offered more detail about how the officer was shot after the suspect led several police agencies on a car chase that ended near Notre Dame Avenue and West Julian Street. The sergeant had used his SUV to partially cut off the path of a white car that the suspect had stolen earlier, and the suspect ran up to the driver’s side of the police vehicle, touching off a close-range shootout.
Eyewitness video shows the suspect briefly try to commandeer the vehicle before running west toward the Highway 87 underpass, followed by the sound of multiple gunshots, and the man falling to the ground. Seconds later, another officer in a separate police SUV hits and runs over the man, who was later pronounced dead.
All told, more than two dozen gunshots could be heard in at least three separate volleys between the suspect’s fight with the sergeant, his attempt to flee, and after he falls and is hit by the police vehicle.
“The incredible bravery exhibited by every officer, especially the SJPD sergeant who was shot and hospitalized after confronting the dangerous criminal, was on full display yesterday,” Steve Slack, president of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association, said in a statement. “Clearly this criminal had no regard for anyone’s life and endangered hundreds of innocent people during his multiple county crime spree. Our officers displayed courage as they ran toward gunfire and ultimately eliminated the threat. The injured sergeant is in good spirits and we are supporting him and his family in every way we can.”
The suspect, who sources and authorities say was wanted in connection with multiple earlier carjackings and robberies, reportedly committed an armed carjacking in San Jose around 2 p.m. Wednesday, and was pursued to Hollister with a San Jose police helicopter trailing the chase.
Around 2:55 p.m., Hollister police officers spotted the stolen vehicle near Central Avenue and Miller Road, and chased it until it broke down near Buena Vista Road and Westside Boulevard. Soon after, Hollister police said the suspect got out of the car and was shot at by officers, which is confirmed in eyewitness video recorded at the scene.
It does not appear anyone was hit in that shooting. He was involved in another shooting with San Benito County sheriff’s deputies near Buena Vista Road and Line Street, which also ended without any law enforcement injuries.
The suspected eluded capture and stole another vehicle at gunpoint and fled the city. On Highway 101, the suspect reportedly shot at California Highway Patrol officers who had joined the chase. The pursuit eventually got onto Highway 85 then Highway 87 in San Jose before the suspect exited in Willow Glen and, now with agencies including SJPD, the CHP, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office on his tail, he drove to the final shooting site in downtown San Jose.
Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.