San José Police Run Over, Shoot at Man Who Shot Sergeant After Carjacking

A man suspected of multiple armed carjackings and shooting at law enforcement during a multi-county spree Wednesday died after a broad daylight shootout with police officers in downtown San Jose. A police sergeant was shot and injured during the chaotic scene and the suspect was run over by a police car.

Law enforcement agencies around the region are still piecing together the details of a wild series of events that officials said began around 2 p.m. and culminated at the start of rush hour with a barrage of gunfire near the busy Highway 87 off-ramp at Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue. Streets in the area remained closed Thursday afternoon.

“This was a scene none of us ever want to witness in real life,” Police Chief Paul Joseph said at a press conference Thursday afternoon. “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.”

The deadly confrontation took place just a block from one of downtown San José’s most popular gathering areas for dining and entertainment, San Pedro Square, and sent echoes of gunfire throughout the busy area, captured on multiple videos now circulating on social media.

San José Police said the man, identified as 30-year-old Mohamed Husien of Davis, was armed with a gun when he stole a green Corvette from a dealership at the Capitol Expressway Auto Mall in South San José just after 2 p.m., and fled south before police arrived, though an SJPD helicopter followed the car as it headed into Hollister.

Just before 3 p.m., Hollister Police Department officers located the stolen car in a residential area and began a “slow-speed vehicle pursuit” that ended in the area of Buena Vista Road and  Westside Boulevard when the car became disabled. The man exited the car with a gun, and an “officer-involved shooting” occurred, meaning an officer or officers fired a gun, according to a Hollister police statement.

Videos online show the man leaving the Corvette behind and gesturing toward officers with his left hand, while holding what appears to be a gun in his right hand at his side, when gunshots are heard, and the man runs away.

Hollister police said San Benito County Sheriff’s Office deputies then confronted the man nearby, where another officer or officers fired. No Hollister police officers or San Benito County sheriff’s deputies were injured, police said.

The man fled from police and stole another car from a person at gunpoint, Hollister police said, before he headed north back toward San José. While on the highway, police said the man “engaged the California Highway Patrol with more gunfire, firing out the window of his vehicle.”

The man arrived at the downtown San José intersection in a white car, colliding with another vehicle while being pursued by police and other local authorities.

Videos posted online show he got out of the car and was nearly struck by a police car. The man, whose gun had an extended magazine, and a sergeant fired at each other at close range.

One bullet struck the sergeant in the head, fracturing his skull, Joseph said Thursday. The suspect jumped into the driver’s seat of the police car. He then exited, running toward a highway off-ramp, while more shots rang out. The man fell and, moments later, another police vehicle barreled over him.

Another long volley of shooting followed, with a swarm of officers rushing forward, guns pointed at the man on the ground.

“That suspect was declared deceased at the scene,” San José Police Sgt. Jorge Garibay told reporters Wednesday evening. It wasn’t clear whether the man was killed by police gunfire, by the police vehicle, or by a combination of the two.

In total, three sergeants and six officers, with between four and 19 years of service, were involved in the use of force during the incident.

The sergeant who was struck by the man’s gunfire was taken to a local hospital for treatment. “The injuries are non-life-threatening and the sergeant is expected to survive,” Garibay said, thanking medical staff.

Days earlier, on Jan. 17, according to police, the suspect stole a red Corvette in Sacramento and proceeded to commit a string of four robberies, including on the Peninsula and in San Jose. Police located the red Corvette Wednesday using license plate readers and briefly pursued him but lost the car before the theft of the green Corvette was reported.

Steve Slack, the president of the San José Police Officers’ Association, the union representing officers in the city, said in a statement that the bravery of San José Police officers, including the sergeant, was “on full display” Wednesday.

“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,” Slack said. The injured sergeant “is in good spirits and we are supporting him and his family in every way we can,” he said.

Sean Allen, the president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP, and a retired Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, said the situation Wednesday was “tragic,” and raises a lot of questions about how it all unfolded, and police actions in both counties. Police and other authorities will need to be very transparent in their investigation of this incident, and share updates with the community, Allen said, especially surrounding the use of deadly force.

In the moment when the man was shooting at a police sergeant in the intersection, it’s clear that officers “have a right to, and an obligation to, preserve life, both theirs and the public’s,” Allen said.

“So when he is shooting at someone, then (police) should be responding with deadly force in the safest manner possible,” Allen said.

“But after that interaction occurred, when he is running away, the video doesn’t show whether he’s still shooting or not, so the question is, again, was that deadly force at that moment justifiable?” Allen said. “Was he an immediate threat at that time to the community and to those officers?”

In such a highly populated area at a busy time, Allen said officers must be especially careful when considering opening fire or using any other kind of deadly force, because of the possibility of harming others.

“Are you putting other people at risk, even if you’re attempting to preserve life?” he said.

Asked if the public was in danger during the incident, Garibay said Wednesday night that officers responded quickly to protect the public.

“Whenever you have a violent individual armed with a firearm who’s willing to commit violence on the police department or any other individual, taking vehicles, driving recklessly and firing indiscriminately, yeah, of course they’re in danger,” Garibay said. “If there wasn’t a stop to this, I can only imagine how much longer this would have gone.”

On Thursday, in response to a question about hitting the suspect with a car, Joseph said, “At that point, you have an incredibly dangerous situation with a dangerous individual. That individual needs to be stopped…They made a decision in that moment. And obviously these things will be judged by the district attorney and by this department to make sure that they are complying with the law and policy.”

San José police said the department’s homicide unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office will jointly investigate the shooting by San José officers.

Officers “will be interviewed. They all have to justify the actions that they took,” Joseph said.The Monterey County District Attorney is investigating the police shootings that happened in San Benito County, Hollister police said.