San Jose Police Department investigating four separate shootings in span of 11 hours

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police blocked off a large area in the Buena Vista neighborhood in San Jose, as investigators collected evidence from the fourth shooting scene in the first 11 hours of Tuesday morning.

“It’s very unusual. It’s a lot of shootings. And we have resources out there trying to take care of them as best as they can. And our detectives are now actively working all four of these shootings right now,” said police spokesman Sgt. Christian Camarillo.

Detectives say Tuesday’s violence began just after midnight. An unidentified man was shot and killed in the 6000 block of San Ignacio Avenue in South San Jose. At 6:14am, an unidentified man was found shot to death in 3200 block of Loma Verde Drive in West San Jose.

“I think it’s tragic. It seems we’re living in such a hateful time right now. It’s just tragic,” said San Jose resident Shirley Stevens.

Just after 7am, a shooting targeting a victim in a car near McLaughlin and Story in East San Jose sends one man into surgery fighting for his life. And at 11am, another shooting, in the 400 block of South Willard Street caused an unidentified man to suffer life threatening injuries.

“I can’t describe or guess why we’ve had so many shootings in a small amount of time,” said Camarillo. “Everything right now is really fresh. Everything we have is preliminary. But they are active investigations.”

San Jose police say the four crimes Tuesday are not connected, either to each other, or the other acts of violence dating back to September 16. The current wave does come after the department added extra patrols to the central district to combat a rash of crime there.

“It provides that high visibility. We know it suppresses crime,” San Jose Dep. Chief Heather Randol said Friday.

Police officials say while the downtown area was spared more violence, the four most recent crimes were scattered across the city. Detectives are now fanned out, trying to connect clues and identify suspects.

“Often times, these cases are cracked with someone coming forward and providing a vital piece of information to our detectives. So we’re hoping that’s the case in these incidents,” said Camarillo.