POLICE IN SAN JOSE DISCLOSED more details of an alleged crime spree that preceded an officer-involved shooting Wednesday that left a suspect dead and an officer wounded.
“Yesterday, our officers and partners did everything within their being to put themselves between the public and an armed suspect who was willing to endanger anyone in his path,” said San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph during a briefing on Thursday.
The alleged crime spree spanned several days, involved six different law enforcement agencies, and crossed into multiple counties. The suspect allegedly committed multiple armed robberies, at least two carjackings , and was involved in two separate police shootouts.
It began Saturday when 30-year-old Mohamed Husien of Davis allegedly stole a red Chevrolet Corvette from a dealership in Sacramento. The same day, Husien allegedly committed an armed robbery at a convenience store in another jurisdiction as well as another armed robbery at a liquor store in San Jose.
The next day, Husien allegedly committed two more robberies — one in a separate jurisdiction on the Peninsula and another on Coleman Road in San Jose.
On Wednesday, San Jose police flagged the stolen Corvette through its automated license plate camera system. Officers found the car and began a brief pursuit but later found the car empty.
Officers were then called to a car dealership in the 900 block of Capitol Expressway that had reported an armed carjacking. The suspect, suspected to be Husien, allegedly brandished a firearm at an employee and stole a green Corvette.
A San Jose Police Department helicopter located the green Corvette traveling south toward San Benito County. Officers communicated the car’s whereabouts to the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office and the Hollister Police Department.
Once the car drove into San Benito County, sheriff’s deputies began a pursuit that ended when the car became disabled in Hollister.
Husien then got out of the car allegedly armed with a handgun and an officer-involved shooting occurred. The suspect fled and then another officer-involved shooting took place. No officers were injured.
Husien allegedly carjacked a passing vehicle at gunpoint and fled Hollister, driving northbound at a high rate of speed on the freeway toward San Jose with law enforcement from multiple agencies pursing him.
After crossing into San Jose, Husien collided with another car just before 4 p.m. near the intersection of Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue in San Jose.
A gunfight then occurred that left a San Jose police sergeant with a serious injury.
“After the collision, the suspect exited his vehicle and charged at an arriving San Jose police sergeant, immediately firing multiple rounds as the sergeant exited his patrol vehicle, with one bullet striking the sergeant in the head and fracturing his skull,” Joseph said.
A gunfight continued between the suspect and the officer, who was “bleeding from the head,” Joseph said.
Husien apparently tried to carjack the patrol car before exiting and fleeing on foot. He ran several feet before falling to the ground as officers fired at him.
A responding officer then drove his car over Husien as he was on the ground. Husien continued moving and was allegedly still armed with a handgun that had an extended magazine.
Officers fired more shots at Husien, who died at the scene.
“What prompted the suspect to engage in a multi-day violent rampage is still being explored and may never be fully understood,” Husien.
Husien had a criminal history mostly in Northern California, but officers have yet to identify any connection he had to San Jose.
Joseph said that the use of force by officers will be investigated for compliance with the law and department policy.
Multiple videos of the encounters have circulated online, with one showing the San Jose police patrol car running over Husien after he was on the ground.
“Some of this incident was captured from overhead by a police helicopter,” Joseph said. “Portions of that video and bystander video have been posted online. It’s intense and graphic.”
Joseph justified the officer’s decisions.
“Nothing about a deadly force encounter is pretty, and at that point you have an incredibly dangerous situation with a dangerous individual,” he said. “That individual needs to be stopped, and by whatever means the officers need to use to stop that individual.”
‘We got more than lucky’
The officer who was shot in the head is expected to survive. He has not been identified.
San Jose City Manager Jennifer Maguire and Mayor Matt Mahan visited the sergeant at the hospital.
“The sergeant was in very good spirits and extraordinarily positive given the tragic situation,” Maguire said at the briefing.
“We got more than lucky,” Joseph said. “Lives were saved because officers from multiple jurisdictions pursued this suspect relentlessly and took decisive action.”
This story has been updated with additional details about the suspect and the alleged crime spree.