Villabrille refused to surrender, and Alameda County Sheriff’s Office SWAT officers fired tear gas rounds into the home on at least two occasions, and a fire sparked from one of the rounds early Thursday.
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The suspect told police he was inside for the long haul, and that authorities would negotiate as long as it took, Kelly told reporters. “He has a little more than year”, said Geneva Bosques, Fremont police spokesperson.
The pickup truck backed up into the officer’s patrol auto, a person in the truck fired shots that injured the officer and the shooter and another suspect fled on foot.
“We have one shooter that shot our officers”, Kelly said. By Wednesday night, both were out of surgery; one was critically injured, while the other was in stable condition, authorities said. The home caught fire. The suspect’s remains and gun were found in the home after the fire was extinguished. Then he went over a fence and onto Roberts Avene where shots were fired again and a second officer was wounded. Police say the man who holed up in their home chose it randomly.
While Police have yet to release the suspect’s name, NBC Bay Area reports that he is “known” to police.
The standoff and blaze ended an intense manhunt that began when the alleged gunman and multiple other suspects were stopped by a patrol officer at 1:33 p.m. The patrol officer was injured and the person or people in the auto ran away, police say. About 7:30 a.m., they appeared to get the upper hand on the fire as smoke billowing from the structure turned from thick black to white after it had burned for about five hours. A small dog belonging to the family renting the home perished in the fire, Lucero said.
It’s unknown how many suspects are being sought.
The officers, who were not immediately identified, were rushed to Regional Medical Center in San Jose. In July 2010, officers used a stun gun while arresting him when he tossed an icepick and hypodermic needles out his vehicle window while fleeing police, Santa Clara County Superior Court records show. The suspect was able to resist coming out. No arrests had been made as of late Wednesday.
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“There are really good indicators that our suspect might be there”, Kelly said.
