San Jose police: Officer wounded in downtown shootout is ‘doing well’

SAN JOSE — A San Jose police sergeant is “doing well” and in “good spirits” after a bullet grazed his head during a close-range gunfight Wednesday afternoon with a carjacking suspect who later after being shot and struck by a police SUV in downtown San Jose, authorities said.

Police gave the update Thursday morning as they prepared to hold an afternoon news conference on a sprawling, nearly two-hour chase that stretched from Hollister to San Jose and involved multiple law enforcement agencies. Law-enforcement sources said the wounded sergeant underwent surgery to repair a skull fracture.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly, said the sergeant was shot after using his SUV to partially block the path of a stolen white car the suspect was driving near Notre Dame Avenue and West Julian Street. As the vehicles stopped, the suspect ran toward the driver’s side of the police SUV and opened fire, triggering a close-range exchange of gunfire.

Eyewitness video obtained by Bay Area News Group shows the suspect briefly attempting to commandeer the police vehicle before running west toward the Highway 87 underpass. Gunshots can be heard as the man falls to the ground. Seconds later, another officer in a separate police SUV drives over the suspect, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

In all, more than two dozen gunshots could be heard in at least three separate volleys — during the initial exchange with the sergeant, as the suspect tried to flee and after he fell to the ground.

“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.”

Authorities said the suspect had been wanted in connection with multiple earlier carjackings and robberies and allegedly committed an armed carjacking in San Jose around 2 p.m. Wednesday. A San Jose police helicopter tracked the suspect as he fled south toward Hollister.

Around 2:55 p.m., Hollister police spotted the stolen vehicle near Central Avenue and Miller Road and pursued it until it broke down near Buena Vista Road and Westside Boulevard. Soon after, Hollister police said officers opened fire when the suspect got out of the car, a shooting captured on eyewitness video. No one was injured.

The suspect later exchanged gunfire with San Benito County sheriff’s deputies near Buena Vista Road and Line Street, again without any officers being wounded, authorities said.

He then fled in another vehicle taken at gunpoint and headed north. On Highway 101, the suspect allegedly fired at California Highway Patrol officers who had joined the pursuit. The chase continued onto highways 85 and 87 in San Jose before the suspect exited in Willow Glen and drove to the final shooting site in downtown San Jose, with officers from San Jose police, the CHP and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in pursuit.

Staff writer Jason Green contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.