San José Police Arrest Suspect in Valley Fair Mall Shooting

San José police arrested a 17-year-old boy suspected of shooting and injuring three people at the Westfield Valley Fair mall on Black Friday in what authorities described as a gang-motivated act.

The arrest came Sunday night, a little more than two days after the shooting at the mall, which caused chaos and fear of a mass shooting among throngs of holiday shoppers who fled to parking lots en masse after hearing gunshots. 

While the teenager will not be identified publicly because he is a minor, Police Chief Paul Joseph said Monday afternoon the same suspect was arrested earlier this year for carrying a concealed and loaded gun, but was released as part of a probationary program. 

Joseph, along with San José Mayor Matt Mahan, condemned the violence and called for changes to state laws to allow for harsher penalties against people who commit gun violence, including minors. 

“In California, our laws do not treat gun violence with meaningful consequences. And if you’re a juvenile, the consequences are, quite frankly, almost nonexistent,” Joseph said during a press conference. “When there are little to no meaningful consequences for committing a gun crime, we should not be surprised when more gun crimes follow.”

In statements issued over the weekend, San José police said their officers and other law enforcement agencies responded to the mall around 5:40 p.m. Friday after multiple reports of a shooting, and “determined the incident was isolated and not an active-shooter event.”

Joseph said the teenager went to the mall with a group of people and was wearing gang-affiliated clothing when he spotted a man who was allegedly in a rival gang. 

After a short interaction, the teenager pulled a gun out and fired multiple rounds, hitting the man who was his intended target and also striking two bystanders, a woman and a 16-year-old girl who were not involved in the conflict, police said.

“Sorting through a chaotic incident like this and tracking down a suspect who fled into a crowd of thousands is no small feat,” Joseph said. 

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said his office will be filing “serious charges” against the teenager suspected of the shooting, as well as against a woman who was with him in the mall and allegedly helped him escape after the incident. Both people are in police custody, officials said.

“This is a place where we bring our families and our children. But this minor brought a semi-automatic handgun with him,” Rosen said. “We’re thankful that no one was killed, miraculously.”

The mall straddles the border of San José and Santa Clara, and police from both cities responded to the incident. San José police said agents from the California Highway Patrol, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also responded to the mall. 

Joseph said the department increased patrols at the mall over the weekend.

In an Instagram post on Saturday featuring an image of police officers smiling in the mall, Joseph and the police department wrote, “A single violent act won’t define this community or this city. Today, Valley Fair is alive again with families shopping, friends gathering, and officers standing watch to ensure everyone feels safe.” 

In social media videos posted by people at the mall during the shooting, large crowds of people can be seen running through the mall to get outside, while others were huddled in stores or backrooms before being evacuated with hands raised as officers monitored doors and exits. 

Mahan said he felt for the thousands of people who were just trying to enjoy a shopping trip during the incident. 

“This arrest means a lot to our city because there were not just three victims on Friday. There were thousands. The suspect caused bodily harm to a few victims and emotional harm to many.”

Mahan recalled a violent, allegedly gang-motivated stabbing in February in which a 13-year-old is alleged to have killed a 15-year-old at Santana Row, another very popular and upscale shopping center across the street from Valley Fair.

“I’m afraid that if we don’t change the way our system holds young repeat offenders accountable, we may be providing a perverse incentive for gangs to recruit children at younger and younger ages,” Mahan said Monday. 

“In addition to enhancing penalties for those who commit or attempt murder and those who push our young people into a life of crime, we need to also double down on prevention and alternative pathways,” Mahan said, highlighting San Jose’s Youth Empowerment Alliance, previously called the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force. 

“Clearly, there’s still a lot of work to do,” Mahan said. “This horrible tragedy is yet another reminder that protecting our children is one of the best investments we can make in creating a safer city.”