2 San Jose police officers injured in shootout at hotel
Shootout leaves 2 San Jose cops wounded
A man wanted by police on a domestic violence warrant and for a probation violation allegedly used a stolen pistol to shoot two San Jose police officers who were responding to a call about a disturbance at a hotel in the city's Santa Teresa neighborhood Thursday night, according to Interim Police Chief Paul Joseph.
SAN JOSE - Two San Jose police officers were wounded by gunfire while responding to a disturbance at a hotel on Thursday night.
One officer and the suspect sustained life-threatening injuries, according to the San Jose Police Department. Both are in critical condition but expected to survive, the department added.
The other wounded officer has already been released from the hospital for "moderate" injuries, SJPD said.
"Only by the grace of God are we fortunate enough that those officers remain with us, alive today," said Interim Police Chief Paul Joseph at a press conference on Friday.
On Thursday, police were sent to a hotel near the Bernal Plaza shopping center, at San Ignacio Avenue and Bernal Road, around 10:31 p.m. to investigate a disturbance.
Joseph said that a hotel clerk had called 911 on behalf of a guest who reported that a man was knocking at her door.
Earlier that same evening, the woman had called police to report that a man she had a restraining order against was heading to her location. When officers responded to that call, the man was not there, officials said.
When officers responded to the hotel a second time, they located a man matching the provided description walking away from the room. Officers asked him to wait while they investigated the disturbance call.
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The suspect, holding a duffle bag, stopped and began reaching down into it when officers told him to stop. Within a minute of this interaction, the suspect pulled out a stolen handgun and began firing at the officers, Joseph said.
"This is the classic reason why police work is so dangerous. It’s the unknown," said Joseph, standing inside a 2nd floor media briefing room. "You could go to this call and nothing ever goes wrong. And the thousand and first time is this one."
The suspect fled while continuing to shoot at the officers. At least one officer returned fire, striking the suspect. Both officers were hit by the suspect's gunfire.
"The second officer immediately pulled the more seriously injured officer to safety and immediately began assessing him for injuries. Went to apply a tourniquet before even realizing that he himself had been shot," said Joseph.
The suspect continued to run and busted through a window on the third floor, landing on the ground outside the hotel.
Additional officers were called to the scene and found the suspect hiding near an adjacent building. He was arrested at around 10:53 p.m. and then received medical attention.
The suspect was identified as 33-year-old Kevin Briones, who was on active probation.
Joseph said that the guest who made the first call had been sheltering inside a hotel room with her three children, ages 8, 10, and 15. He said that the woman and the suspect had been involved in a domestic dispute, and there was a warrant out for his arrest related to that case.
Authorities have not disclosed details about the nature of the relationship between the woman and the suspect.
The incident marks the second officer-involved shooting this year for the San Jose Police Department. Additionally, officials said over the past 15 months, 12 officers have been targeted by gunfire, with five officers having been hit.