A gun battle unfolded on the streets of a Northern California city this week that was captured in disturbing video — an incidence of violence that a police official likened to “an action movie” that nobody wanted to see happen in reality.
The San José Police Department identified the carjacking suspect at the center of the incident, who shot and wounded an officer during a close-range gunfight before he was mowed down by a police cruiser and fatally shot.
The gunfight marked the end of the suspect’s violent four-day crime spree across two counties that included armed robberies, carjackings, car chases and police shootouts, said San José Police Chief Paul Joseph at a news conference Thursday afternoon, a day after the incident.
Mohamed Husien, 30, of Davis, was killed after being struck by a police cruiser and fatally shot, police say.
(San José Police Department)
“It involved at least six law enforcement agencies, who pursued the suspect across multiple jurisdictions as he placed countless community members in danger as gun battles unfolded in several cities,” Joseph said.
The police chief identified the suspect as Mohamed Husien, 30, a resident of Davis. Husien was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shootout, captured on video by news helicopters and witnesses, erupted Wednesday afternoon after the suspect crashed his car near Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue, next to the offramp of Highway 87 and seven blocks from City Hall.
The videos shared on social media show the suspect dodging a police cruiser attempting to run him down before opening fire at the officer and charging him.
In the videos, the suspect fires his weapon from the rear of the police cruiser while the officer returns fire from the driver’s seat before exiting and retreating from the spot.
“The suspect continued to circle the [officer’s] patrol vehicle while firing at him from only feet away,” Joseph said.
He said the officer, who had recently been promoted to sergeant, continued to fire even after being struck by a bullet and bleeding from his head.
Dozens of commuters found themselves caught in the middle of the gunfight, which ended when the armed suspect — trying to carjack a vehicle stopped on the road — was struck and run over by another police cruiser.
Joseph said the suspect continued to move and was still armed with a firearm illegally equipped with an extended magazine, prompting officers to fatally shoot him.
“This was a scene none of us ever wanted to witness in real life,” he said. “It’s the kind of footage people might expect from an action movie, but this was not a movie.”
Joseph said a thorough investigation would be conducted into the shooting and to determine the suspect’s motive. He said investigators would also look at how Husein, a convicted felon, obtained the firearm used in Wednesday’s shooting.
He said the police sergeant was expected to survive his injuries.
Standing behind a wooden podium, speaking to a row of news cameras and reporters, Joseph declined to answer questions about the use of a patrol vehicle to end the gun battle, citing an ongoing investigation.
“We always are hoping for a peaceful resolution to every incident like this,” he told reporters. “At every second of that vehicle pursuit, the suspect had the option of pulling over and surrendering.
“We used tactics that are standard to try to get this person into custody safely,” he added, ”and unfortunately that isn’t the outcome that we had.”
Joseph said the shooting brought to an end a four-day crime spree across Sacramento, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.
He said the crime spree began on Jan. 17 when the suspect stole a red Corvette from a dealership in Sacramento. Later that day, he said, he robbed a convenience store at gunpoint in another city, followed by a second armed robbery at a San José liquor store.
He said the suspect committed three more robberies the following day. At least one of those was in San José.
Joseph said the department got a break Wednesday when a license plate reader flagged the location of the Corvette, prompting a police response.
“San José officers located the vehicle and engaged in a brief pursuit,” he said, “before losing the vehicle and locating it unoccupied shortly thereafter.”
At 2:01 p.m. that day, San José police received a call about an armed carjacking at a dealership in the 900 block of Capital Expressway.
“The suspect brandished a firearm to an employee, stole a green Corvette and fled the scene,” Joseph said.
Shortly after, he said, a police helicopter spotted the vehicle traveling south outside of San José and continued following, providing real-time updates to local police agencies.
Hollister police officers and San Benito County sheriff’s deputies were notified when the vehicle entered their jurisdiction and attempted to stop the vehicle. But a slow-speed pursuit followed that ended in an officer-involved shooting.
“The suspect fled and was located again where a second officer-involved shooting occurred,” Joseph said. He did not disclose the location of the second shooting.
He said the suspect’s vehicle became disabled, prompting him to carjack a passing vehicle at gunpoint before fleeing the city of Hollister.
Joseph said no officers or deputies were injured in the officer-involved shootings.
“The suspect then fled northbound back towards San José. Officers from multiple agencies pursued the suspect as he drove at high speeds on the freeway, endangering motorists while attempting to evade capture,” Joseph said. “As the suspect reentered our city, San José police units assumed control of the pursuit on city streets.”
He said the suspect crashed into a vehicle that was stopped at the intersection where the gun battle unfolded.
“I can’t imagine the courage it takes to run towards a situation like that and not away from it, but thank God they ran toward it,” said San José Vice Mayor Pam Foley. “We are grateful for their service and for the sacrifices they and their families make, and we stand firmly in support of the San José Police Department and all of our first responders.”
San José Police Sgt. Steve Slack, president of the San José Police Assn., praise the actions of the injured officer.
“The incredible bravery exhibited by every officer, especially the SJPD sergeant who was shot and hospitalized with a skull fracture after confronting the dangerous criminal, was on full display yesterday,” he said. “The injured sergeant is in good spirits, and we are supporting him and his family in every way we can.”
