May 03, 2024
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Two San Jose Police Department officers were shot at Extended Stay America hotel in San Jose late Thursday night. SJPD said its officers were shot in the line of duty while they were responding to a "disturbance" at the hotel, located on San Ignacio Avenue in the Santa Teresa neighborhood. One of the officers suffered life-threatening injuries. The gunman was also injured in the shootout, which unfolded on the third floor of the hotel. At Friday afternoon's news conference, police identified the alleged shooter as 33-year-old Kevin Briones of San Jose. Kevin Briones' mugshot was released by the San Jose Police Department. Police Chief Paul Joseph said his officers initially went to the hotel around 10:30 p.m. because one of the guests called 911 reporting that Briones was on his way to the hotel. The guest was a domestic violence survivor, she had been violently assaulted by Briones in the past, and she had restraining order against him, Joseph said. The domestic violence survivor told 911 dispatchers that she was inside her hotel room with her three children, ages 8, 10, and 15, according to the police chief. Briones and the woman were previously in a relationship, police said. Briones showed up at Extended Stay America hotel with a pistol that was stolen during an auto burglary in San Jose, Joseph said. San Jose police officers search Extended Stay America hotel on May 3, 2024, after two officers were shot in a shootout. (KRON4 Photo) "We had an armed, dangerous felon showing up in the middle of the night at a hotel room where this domestic violence survivor and her three children were. It's fortunate that our officers arrived in time to intervene. They took that harm ... and not this domestic violence survivor and those children," Joseph said. When the two officers arrived at the hotel, Briones opened fire and the officers fired back, according to SJPD. The man jumped out of a third-story window in an attempt to escape, Joseph said. Backup officers spotted him hiding in bushes and took Briones into custody at a hospital. Here’s what latest data says about Oakland’s crime rates Joseph said the officers saved the lives of three children and their mother. "It’s clear to me that these lives were all in great danger, and the officers are the reason they survived this horrific and traumatic incident," the police chief said. Hotel guest Erica Nava told KRON4 that she was sleeping when she heard a noise that sounded like fireworks. Two minutes later, police officers pounded on her hotel room door to check on everyone inside. "Bam! Bam! Bam! It was the cops. I'm like, 'What's going on? Is everybody OK?" Nava recalled. Nava said officers told her to, "shelter in place, lock your door, stay down as low as you can." When she looked farther down the hallway, "All I could see was blood and glass outside the room." One officer remained in critical condition at a hospital as of Friday afternoon, police said. Briones is also in critical condition and suffered life-threatening injuries, SJPD said. The second officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and he was released from the hospital. Briones is on probation for a firearms conviction and he has an extensive criminal history. After his conviction, he violated his probation for possessing a firearm. "And then last night, obviously, again, he was armed with a firearm," Joseph said.  Mayor Matt Mahan told reporters, "We need to address repeat offenders so our officers don't have to keep arresting the same people over, and over, again, while they threaten our community." The critically-injured officer is expected to survive, according to the police chief. Mahan said, "We got a reminder of the courage it takes to put on the badge and protect our city every day, knowing that you would give your life to protect the community you love. Thanks to the swift and courageous actions of our officers no one else was harmed. There are no words that can convey how grateful I am that both of our officers have made it to see the morning." San Ignacio Avenue, between Bernal Road to Great Oaks Boulevard, and Bernal Road, between Monterey Road to San Ignacio Avenue, were blocked off for several hours while detectives combed the shootout scene for evidence.
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