3 Bay Area police shootings in 8 hours kill 2 suspects

Daniel Tolosa was shot by a Richmond police sergeant. Daniel Tolosa was shot by a Richmond police sergeant. Photo: Richmond Police Photo: Richmond Police Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 3 Bay Area police shootings in 8 hours kill 2 suspects 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Santa Clara police shot and killed a robbery suspect moments after he fired a shot at a convenience store clerk early Sunday — the third shooting involving police in the Bay Area within an eight-hour period, authorities said.

Two of the three incidents ended in fatalities, including the death of a man that Vallejo police said appeared to be a case of “suicide by cop.”

The latest incident happened about 2 a.m., when two Santa Clara police officers arrived in separate marked vehicles at the 7-Eleven store at 2105 Scott Blvd. and came across a robbery in progress, said police Lt. Kurt Clarke.

The officers were in the parking lot when the suspect pointed a gun at the clerk and fired a shot, Clarke said.

“I’m getting shots fired,” one of the officers said on the radio. The suspect came out of the store, where he was confronted by the officers, police said.

The man “did not comply with the officers’ commands,” Clarke said. “Fearing for their lives and safety of citizens in the parking lot, the officers discharged their firearms, fatally wounding the suspect.”

A loaded revolver and money taken from the store were found next to the suspect, Clarke said. The store clerk and the officers weren’t injured.

The two officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, a routine step, pending investigations by police and the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office.

The incident is the third shooting by Bay Area officers within eight hours.

About 6 p.m. Saturday, Vallejo police responded to the Vallejo Corners shopping center on Admiral Callaghan Lane, just east of Interstate 80, to investigate reports a man who had thrown a beer bottle at a car was acting “extremely agitated” and was armed with a hunting knife, police said.

An officer found the man near the Sleep Train Mattress Center, armed with a knife as well as what turned out to be a replica gun in his waistband, said Lt. Sid DeJesus.

“The officer ordered the suspect to drop the knife several times, but the suspect refused to comply and advanced on the officer,” DeJesus said. “The officer discharged his firearm, striking the suspect.”

The officer said on the radio, “Shots fired! Shots fired! I’m OK. Suspect is down.” The suspect died at a hospital at 7:50 p.m. Police said he had “previous contacts with law enforcement,” including gun-related charges.

The man had a note in his truck that apologized for the trouble he had caused and for forcing officers to end his life, police said.

About 7:15 p.m. Saturday, a Richmond police sergeant tried to stop a PT Cruiser at 25th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, police said. The driver failed to stop and led the sergeant on a chase to the 500 block of 38th Street, less than a mile away, said Richmond police Capt. Bisa French.

A suspect, later identified as Daniel Tolosa, 19, fled from the car on foot, and the sergeant saw that the suspect was armed with a gun, police said. The sergeant chased Tolosa toward the back of a home, and the two exchanged gunfire, but no one was hit, French said. Tolosa tried to flee and the two again shot at each other, and the suspect was struck by the sergeant’s gunfire, police said.

The sergeant was not hit. A gun was recovered, police said. Tolosa was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, authorities said. He has a criminal history that includes resisting arrest and weapons violations, police said.

Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter; @henryklee