Santa Clara police shoot, kill person inside convenience store

SANTA CLARA >> A suspect with multiple firearms who was “indiscriminately shooting” at people and passing cars at a Rotten Robbie convenience store in Santa Clara was shot and killed by police early Saturday.

Around 5:42 a.m., dispatchers received calls of a man “indiscriminately shooting in the parking lot and inside the store,” located at 3471 Lafayette St., according to a news release from the Santa Clara Police Department.

When officers arrived, they could hear the suspect, a 55-year-old San Jose resident, shooting inside the store. They were able to shoot the man without entering the store, and he died at the scene, said public information officer Capt. Wahid Kazem.

Initial reports indicated that several people had been hurt, but ultimately no bystanders, police or employees of the store were harmed, Kazem said.

“Honestly I don’t know how we became so fortunate to not have any casualties, because of the reckless nature in which this person was shooting,” Kazem said. “He was armed heavily, he had additional ammunition with him, and he was obviously intent on hurting or killing innocent civilians.”

Police believe that before arriving at the Rotten Robbie store in Santa Clara, the suspect set fire to the cashier’s kiosk at a Rotten Robbie at 19030 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino, where he worked.

This is the department’s first shooting by an officer in 2019. The last shooting by an officer, in September, did not result in a fatality.

The last time a Santa Clara police officer fatally shot a person was in March 2017, Kazem said.

The episode is being investigated jointly by Santa Clara police and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone with information about the encounter is asked to contact Sgt. Alex Torke at 408-615-4806.