SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) — A deadly shootout in the South Bay led to a massive response, and now more than a day-long investigation in downtown San Jose and beyond.
San Jose police gave us more details as to what happened Wednesday just before the injured sergeant was released from the hospital after being shot in the head by a carjacker.
“Under fire, wounded and under extreme stress, his training and resolve kicked in,” SJPD Chief Paul Joseph said. “Only a person with a warrior spirit could fight through an encounter like that and live.”
It’s nothing short of a miracle that the 13-year veteran sergeant was the only confirmed injury in the violent crime spree and deadly shootout that spanned several days.
It covered hundreds of miles, with multiple armed robberies and carjackings, across multiple counties and cities. It involved several jurisdictions, and it all culminated in the suspect being shot and run over by police.
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“This was a scene none of us ever want to witness in real life,” Joseph said. “It’s the kind of footage people might expect from an action movie. But this was not a movie. This was a battle for that sergeant’s life unfolding in the middle of our city in broad daylight with members of the public in the crossfire.”
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph gave us a better look at the timeline Thursday afternoon.
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph gave an update to the press on Thursday after a deadly shootout with a carjacker that took place on Wednesday afternoon.
The chief says the suspect, 30-year-old Muhammed Hussein of Davis, stole a red corvette from a dealership in Sacramento on Saturday, Jan. 17 and committed multiple armed robberies in Northern California and the Bay Area over the next few days.
On Wednesday, license plate readers spotted that stolen red Corvette in San Jose, but officers were not able to find the driver.
A pursuit began when the suspect stole a bright green Corvette at gunpoint from Capitol Chevrolet in San Jose.
The police chopper followed the carjacker about 45 miles south to Hollister, where the man got into a shootout with San Benito Sheriff’s deputies and Hollister Police.
The man stole another car in Hollister — seen on cell phone video — then drove back to San Jose as he fired at California Highway Patrol officers along the way.
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It all ended in downtown San Jose, as shown in video from a law enforcement helicopter obtained by Fugitive.com.
You can see the carjacker shoot the SJPD sergeant, hitting him in the head and fracturing his skull, before trying to steal the sergeant’s patrol car before running off.
Police shot him and drove over him at Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue.
“Nothing about a deadly force encounter is pretty,” Joseph said. “And at that point, you have an incredibly dangerous situation with a dangerous individual and that individual needs to be stopped. And whatever means the officers needed to use to stop that individual, they made a decision in that moment.”
A lengthy investigation will now begin into that fatal use of force and all images and video collected by police, including body cam footage, will be released in 45 days per state law.
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Zach Fuentes
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