2 officers shot after Fremont traffic stop, attacker on loose

Police officers wait for a K-9 unit to do a sweep after breaching a fence door during the search for a suspect connected with the shootings of two police officers in Fremont, California, on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. less Police officers wait for a K-9 unit to do a sweep after breaching a fence door during the search for a suspect connected with the shootings of two police officers in Fremont, California, on Wednesday, June 1, ... more Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Connor Radnovich, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 37 Caption Close 2 officers shot after Fremont traffic stop, attacker on loose 1 / 37 Back to Gallery

A traffic stop in Fremont turned into a life-and-death struggle Wednesday when a motorist shot two police officers after being pulled over and then fled into a residential area, prompting a huge manhunt that lasted into the night, investigators said.

The chaotic scene began shortly after 1:30 p.m., when a patrol officer stopped a white pickup truck with no front license plate in a shopping center parking lot near Fremont and Washington boulevards. The driver of the pickup backed into the patrol vehicle, pulled a gun and opened fire, hitting the officer once during an exchange of gunfire, said Geneva Bosques, a Fremont police spokeswoman.

The shooter then fled on foot. He opened fire again about 10 minutes later when confronted by a Fremont detective on the 1300 block of Roberts Avenue. The 10-year veteran of the force managed to return fire, but was hit twice during the exchange, Bosques said.

The assailant, described as a bald man, about 6 feet tall, wearing a San Francisco Giants T-shirt, gray shorts and black shoes, fled on foot through neighborhoods in the Irvington area of Fremont, where police were conducting a door-to-door search as night fell.

Video collected near the scene of the crime, and witness accounts, confirmed that the man was still carrying the gun after he shot the two officers, investigators said. Besides the shooter, police were looking for as many as two other people who may have been in the vehicle at the time of the first shooting.

The bullet-riddled pickup truck and a police vehicle with bullet holes in the side windows remained at the scene Wednesday night.

The officers, who were not immediately identified, were rushed to Regional Medical Center in San Jose. The beat officer, who has been with the department for a little over a year, was reported in critical condition after surgery.

‘Pow. Pow. Pow’

Bosques would not describe the nature of the wounds, declining to comment on reports that the first victim was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The detective was listed in stable condition, Bosques said.

Several pedestrians witnessed the dramatic events, including Joe Crab, a homeless man who said he was resting in his truck on Roberts Avenue when the confrontation started.

“Next thing you know, the cops are chasing this guy and they are shooting at each other,” Crab said. “Pow. Pow. Pow.”

He said he saw one officer run back, clutching his side and bleeding, before a police van came and picked him up.

Wielding a knife

Sarbjeet Johal of Fremont said he had just finished having lunch at Pakwan Restaurant on Fremont Boulevard shortly before 2 p.m., when he saw a man knock down a nearby fence and run past the restaurant wielding what he believed was a knife.



Video: Sarbjeet Johal

He said officers in pursuit stopped to tend to someone on the ground near the area where he saw the man jump the fence.

A large perimeter was set up around the area where the assailant was believed to be hiding. Hundreds of officers and police dogs from law enforcement agencies around the East Bay and the FBI fanned out across Fremont.

The searchers, led by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department tactical squad, scoured backyards, homes, bushes and under parked cars in an area bounded by Fremont Boulevard, Washington Boulevard, Carol Avenue and Roberts Avenue. At one point, officers wearing helmets and camouflage battered down a locked wooden side gate at Lee and Union streets and began searching the yard with a police dog.

Law enforcement helicopters and police drones buzzed overhead, scanning the area for clues to the assailant’s whereabouts.

‘Code Red’ alert

Residents within a 1-mile radius received what Bosques called a “Code Red” phone message urging them to remain indoors and call 911 to report any suspicious activity.

Investigators were sorting through conflicting information from multiple witnesses to determine what happened and where the shooter might be, but they said one thing is clear.

“This is obviously a very dangerous individual,” said Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department. “He’s already shown a propensity for violence.”

Kelly said nobody is sure whether either of the two officers hit the man when they exchanged gunfire.

“He may be wounded,” Kelly said, “but we don’t know.”

As the manhunt escalated, Fremont police asked media helicopters to leave the scene to allow officers to conduct tactical operations.

Michael Cabanatuan, Kevin Schultz and Peter Fimrite are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com, kschultz@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: ctuan @KevinEdSchultz @pfimrite