Man with machete takes 3 hostages, killed by San Jose police
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police say a man who had barricaded himself in a home Wednesday night with a machete and three hostages was killed by police.
The man was hit by police gunfire, taken to the hospital and died there, police said.
Before that, the man had armed himself with a machete on the 900 block of Boynton Avenue near Boynton High School at about 8:30 p.m. with one adult and two children, police said.
Their relationship was unclear. And what led up to the hostage situation was also not made public.
Police spent several hours talking to the man, but the situation broke down.
By 11:10 p.m., at least one officer fired shots, hitting the man.
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"The suspect was found to be armed with a machete, a two-foot pipe, along with a firearm, a revolver. All that evidence is still being processed, collected at the scene," said police department spokesman Sgt. Steve Aponte.
A woman named Cassandra said she is the cousin of the suspect and showed up at the scene to get his dog.
"He called me when everything was happening," she said. "Come get the dog ‘cause I’m in trouble."
She said her cousin had called her before the hostage situation began to tell her that he was going to put his dog inside a truck and that "things were about to happen."
When she arrived at the house, she saw all the police.
"I feel in shock because I didn't think he would ever be doing something like that," Cassandra said. "He had anger issues but I never thought he would do that."
The suspect was rushed to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead.
"Obviously this is a very traumatic event for everybody involved. Not just the family but the officers as well" said police department spokesman Sgt. Steve Aponte.
The city attorney, district attorney, independent police auditor, and police internal affairs are all investigating the case. It's the city's the second officer-involved shooting of the year.
