San Jose police shoot suspect they say threatened officers with knife

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose police shot a suspect who they say assaulted his wife and stabbed a family member before threatening officers with a knife over the weekend. 

Police said the suspect, who was in violation of a restraining order, was taken to a hospital and is in critical condition.

At a news conference on Monday, police identified the suspect as Heraclio Mejia, 44, 

Officers were called out on Sunday about 7:45 p.m. to the area near S. First and Sutter streets to help out with a "family disturbance involving a weapon." The 911 caller said the suspect was intoxicated. 

Heraclio Mejia, 44, suspected of assaulting his wife and stabbing a family member before he was shot by an SJPD officer. 

Police wrote on X that the "suspect threatened officers with a knife, prompting one officer to discharge their firearm, striking the suspect."

The suspect then holed up inside the residence but was eventually taken into custody – in this case, at the hospital.  

Police said the suspect assaulted his wife and stabbed a family member. Police were not clear if the four children present at the home during this incident were the children of Mejia or not. 

Police said Mejia has a prior criminal history for "prior acts of intimate partner violence" and that he has a restraining order against him. At Monday's news conference, police said the female survivor and her children were all in "grave danger last night." 

"No family should have to barricade themselves in a room to hide from an abuser," Chief of Police Paul Joseph said. He said if this is the case, they can count on SJPD to respond. 

No officers were injured during this incident, police said. 

Chief Joseph did not identify the officer involved in this shooting but said they have six years of experience. The officers who responded were all wearing police body-worn cameras, the chief said. SJPD did not release footage from this incident. 

Joseph said the officers who responded are CIT (crisis intervention team) trained and that they made attempts to deescalate the situation. 

"The officers gave the suspect several commands, which would have allowed him to safely surrender and be taken into custody. When he initially advanced on him they began to withdraw from the room and continued giving commands and tried less-lethal means with a Taser, which was ineffective," said Joseph. 

Neighbors reportedly described hearing explosions. Chief Joseph said that was likely from "noise-flash diversion devices" the tactical unit deployed in an attempt to get the suspect to emerge from the home. Those efforts were unsuccessful, police said. 

Following the shooting, the suspect sat holed up in the home for about three hours before being taken into custody where he could be given medical treatment. "We weren't certain that he had been struck," said Joseph.

Eventually, tactical medics were able to come in and rendered aid to the suspect. 

The chief said the SJPD homicide unit is investigating this incident, along with the Santa Clara County district attorney's office. SJPD internal affairs is also monitoring this case along with the city attorney's office and the city's independent auditor. 

This is the fifth officer-involved shooting in San Jose in 2024, the chief said. 

Speaking at the news conference, Mayor Matt Mahan said this is the second time this year that a police firearm was discharged to protect a mother and her children.