Suspect named in San Jose-to-Hollister pursuit; sergeant shot in the head, suspect dead
Good afternoon. Before I walk through the timeline of events, I want to underscore the scope of what we experienced yesterday. Based on the information we currently have, yesterday marked the end of *** violent multi-day crime spree involving multiple armed robberies, at least 2 carjackings, stolen vehicles, and *** firearm equipped with an extended magazine. It involved at least 6 law enforcement agencies who pursued the suspect across multiple jurisdictions as he placed countless community members in danger as gun battles unfolded in several cities. It also left one of our San Jose police sergeants shot in the head. I want to be candid. Coming this close to losing an officer is *** nightmare. But I also want to say what I believe the public should know. With this department, when this department and our partners were tested yesterday, the bravery, teamwork, and self-sacrifice we saw was beyond extraordinary. The scope of this investigation is vast, so as we continue to investigate yesterday’s incident, some details may change as new information emerges and evidence is reviewed. What I can share with you now is the following. On the 17th of this month, the suspect stole *** red Corvette from *** dealership in Sacramento. Later that day, he committed an armed robbery of *** convenience store in another jurisdiction and *** 2nd armed robbery at *** liquor store on McKee Road in San Jose. The next day he committed two more robberies, one in *** separate jurisdiction on the peninsula and another in San Jose on Coleman Road. Yesterday, San Jose Police Department’s real-time intelligence center flagged the stolen Corvette in our automated license plate reader camera system and provided patrol officers with recent locations in San Jose of the vehicle. San Jose officers located the vehicle and engaged in *** brief pursuit before losing the vehicle and locating it unoccupied shortly thereafter. At that time, the suspect had not yet been identified. Later, at approximately 2:01 p.m., San Jose police officers responded to *** car dealership in the 900 block of Capitol Expressway for *** report of an armed carjacking. The suspect brandished *** firearm to an employee, stole *** green Corvette, and fled the scene. By the time officers arrived, the suspect was gone, but they immediately began follow-up investigation. Shortly thereafter, the San Jose Police Department’s helicopter Air 3 located the stolen vehicle traveling south outside San Jose’s jurisdiction. From overhead, AI 3 monitored the suspect vehicle and working with San Jose Police Department communications provided real-time updates to law enforcement partners throughout South County. Officers with the Hollister Police Department and deputies with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department were provided real-time updates, excuse me, um, were notified that AI 3 was tracking the vehicle as it entered their jurisdiction. Air 3 continued to update Hollister police who reported that their officers and San Bernardo County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspect vehicle and engaged it in *** slow speed pursuit that ended when the vehicle became disabled, at which point the suspect exited armed with *** handgun and an officer involved shooting occurred. The suspect fled and was located again where *** 2nd officer involved shooting occurred. The suspect then carjacked *** passing vehicle at gunpoint and fled the city of Hollister. Thankfully, Hollister police and the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office reported no officers or deputies were injured. No San Jose officers other than the officers in Air 3 were involved in the Hollister incidents. This is exactly why law enforcement tools like AI 3 matter. Criminals don’t respect city borders or county lines, because in real life those boundaries are just lines on *** map. This incident is *** clear reminder that public safety depends on our ability to coordinate across jurisdictions quicklyly, quickly, seamlessly, and in real time. As the suspect then fled northbound back towards San Jose, officers from multiple agencies pursued the suspect as he drove at high speeds on the freeway, endangering motorists while attempting to evade capture. As the suspect reentered our city, San Jose police units assumed control of the pursuit on city streets. At approximately 3:53 p.m., the suspect collided with *** stop vehicle near the intersection of Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue. After the collision, the suspect exited his vehicle and charged at an arriving San Jose police sergeant, immediately firing multiple rounds as the sergeant exited his patrol vehicle with one bullet striking the sergeant in the head and fracturing his skull. In response, the sergeant and another responding officer discharged their weapons at the suspect. The suspect continued to circle the sergeant’s patrol vehicle while firing at him from only feet away, bullets hitting the vehicle as the sergeant returned fire while bleeding from the head. The suspect then entered the driver’s seat of the patrol vehicle in an attempt to flee with it. Moments later, he exited the vehicle and fled on foot toward another vehicle that was stopped in the opposing intersection. The suspect then fell to the ground as officers fired at him, and he was then struck by *** responding patrol vehicle. On the ground, the suspect continued to move and was still armed with *** firearm equipped with an extended magazine. Several additional responding officers then discharged their firearms at the suspect. The suspect sustained fatal injuries as *** result and was pronounced dead at the scene. The sergeant was critically injured and was rushed to the hospital by other patrol officers. Thankfully he will survive his injury. This was *** scene none of us ever want to witness in real life. It’s the kind of footage people might expect from an action movie, but this was not *** movie. This was *** battle for that sergeant’s life. Unfolding in the middle of our city in broad daylight with members of the public in the crossfire. Surviving *** gun battle like this is never just one thing, it’s training, tactics, teamwork, and yes, *** measure of luck, but it’s also the constitution of courage and purpose this sergeant had under fire, wounded and under extreme stress, his training and resolve kicked in. Only *** person with *** warrior spirit could fight through an encounter like that and live. Some of this incident was captured from overhead by *** police helicopter. Portions of that video and bystander video have been posted online. It’s intense and graphic and shows clearly *** sea of bravery in real time. Officers moving with discipline and urgency while an armed suspect created chaos on our streets. The following image is graphic, but makes painfully clear just how close this incident came to *** very different outcome. In total, 3 sergeants and 6 officers were involved in the use of force during this incident. Their experience ranges from 4 to 19 years of service. All of their department issued body worn cameras were activated at the time of the shooting. This is the San Jose Police Department’s first officer involved shooting of 2026. The suspect in this incident has been identified as 30 year old Mohammad Hussein of Davis, California. His criminal history is primarily in Northern California, but we’ve yet to find any known connection to San Jose. The subsequent investigation has led detectives to identify several other armed robberies that match the suspect’s methods and physical description. These incidents are still under investigation. What prompted the suspect to engage in *** multi-day violent rampage still being explored and may never be fully understood. But one thing is consistent with this kind of violence, it is always destined to meet *** police officer somewhere. Because of this broad, this bond, bravery and shared purpose among police officers everywhere, it will be confronted and it will be stopped even when the personal cost is high. Yesterday we became dangerously close to paying the ultimate cost. As with all SJPD officer involved shootings, *** thorough investigation is being conducted by the department’s homicide unit, Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, and this incident is also being reviewed administratively by the San Jose Police Internal Affairs, the city attorney’s Office, and the Office of the Independent Police auditor. All police shootings require intense scrutiny and meticulous investigation. This will happen here. We will follow the facts and we will be transparent about the process as it moves forward. This is the first critical incident that was monitored live from our real-time intelligence center. That unique insight and perspective gave commanders the ability to respond more strategically and with more information and most importantly, prepare for possible worsening scenarios in our busy downtown before they occurred. I know that I could easily be standing here today delivering very different news. We got more than lucky. Lives were saved because officers from multiple jurisdictions pursued this suspect relentlessly and took decisive action. And the termination of this incident, you saw something that deserves to be said out loud. You saw dozens of officers running, literally running toward gunfire, each one of them knowing exactly what they were running towards. Each one of them understanding that running towards that kind of danger means you may not return home. That’s not Hollywood. That’s real courage. I’m grateful to our officers, our law enforcement partners across the region, our dispatchers, and the medical professionals who provided care to our injured brother. Most of all, I’m thankful that our sergeant survived an unimaginable injury. The emotions yesterday were extreme. It was *** sobering reminder of the level of violence that unfortunately exists and of the risks officers accept every time they put on the uniform. Every officer involved will carry the heaviness of what happened with them for the rest of their lives. Some members of the public who were caught in the crossfire described it as the closest thing to *** war they have ever witnessed. That gives you *** sense of how intense and terrifying those moments were, not just for officers, but for the community. Our focus now is on *** thorough investigation, our sergeant’s recovery, and supporting the officers and their families as they process the magnitude of what occurred. One personal note, I’m filled with pride beyond imagination to lead men and women who, when put to the test, exceed every expectation of bravery and self-sacrifice. Yesterday our officers and partners did everything within their being to put themselves between the public and an armed suspect who was willing to endanger anyone in his path. That’s the kind of courage that defines this department and protects this city. I’d like to now turn it over to Vice Mayor Pam Foley. Thank you, Chief Joseph. Good afternoon. I’m Vice Mayor Pam Foley. On behalf of the mayor and city council, I want to express deep gratitude to the officers of our San Jose Police Department. Thanks to their swift and professional response, yesterday’s incident was resolved. During the incident, one of our own was injured in the line of duty, and we were grateful to learn that he is in stable condition and recovery. Every day our officers put on the uniform, knowing the risks, and yesterday was *** reminder of the courage and dedication that they bring to protect our community. I can’t imagine the courage it takes to run towards *** situation like that and not away from it, but thank God they ran toward it. We are grateful for their service and for the sacrifices they and their families make, and we stand firmly in support of the San Jose Police Department and all of our first responders. To our sergeant who is recovering, we thank you for your dedication and commitment to protecting our residents, and we pray that you have *** speedy recovery to the men and the women and women of our police department. We’ve got your back. Be safe out there. I’d now like to turn it over to city manager Jennifer McGuire. Good afternoon everybody and thank you Vice Mayor Foley and and Police Chief Joseph and all of our council members that are attending today. As *** city manager, I must say it is deeply upsetting to see one of our dedicated public servants injured while serving the community. My first and foremost priority is ensuring that every city employee returns home safely to their loved ones at the end of each day. I’m very thankful the mayor and I were able to visit with the sergeant last night and meet his supportive and kind family along with his sworn family who was by his side. The sergeant sergeant was in very good spirits and extraordinarily positive given the tragic situation. However, I’m not surprised by this as his colleagues could not say enough about him and about the impact he has made in this community and as an outstanding police department employee. Along with the mayor and city council and on behalf of the 7000 city of San Jose employees and our community, I want to wish our injured sergeant and his family comfort, healing, and continued strength during this incredibly difficult time. I’d also like to thank Chief Paul Joseph, the entire San Jose Police Department, and all of our partner agencies that were involved for their heroic actions in the events that occurred yesterday. These public safety personnel choose to do this work and risk their lives every day, which takes remarkable courage and bravery, and I truly appreciate each and every one of them, not only as *** city manager but also as *** member of this community. I’m especially grateful for our San Jose Police Department and their unwavering commitment to keeping our city and our residents safe. The sacrifices our officers make each day are truly immeasurable. Thank you very much. Right, I’ll take any questions. Yes, sir. Can you talk about the, the, the tactic of using the patrol car to end this gun battle? Is that, you know, by the book or was he making this up because the situation demanded it? Can you justify that? Sure, well, I’m, I can’t get into the specifics of that, but what I will tell you is this. Nothing about *** deadly force encounter is pretty. And at that point you have an incredibly dangerous situation with *** dangerous individual. That individual needs to be stopped, and this, whatever means the officers needed to use to stop that individual, they made *** decision in that moment. And obviously these things will be judged by the district attorney and by this department to make sure that they are you know, complying with the law and the policy, but that’s not, that’s I can’t, I’m not going to make *** statement about that at this point. Are you satisfied that the threat was still *** threat? I’m satisfied that we will conduct *** thorough investigation and make all those determinations, but I think it’s doubtless that there was *** tremendous threat posed by this individual to members of this community and other communities by his actions on that day. hours to subdue the suspect. There may be somebody out there saying, well, why did the suspect. be stopped sooner. You say, I mean, you give credit to the officers and we all do, but there may be somebody out there saying, well, public safety is at risk if somebody’s out there for *** couple of hours with *** gun being chased around the city and such and outside M County. What do you say to somebody who may be saying that this person should have been taken out sooner? By what means? Well, as far as you know, the suspect was pursued for 2 hours across from San Jose into San Benito County, then back again, right, stole *** couple of cars in the process, got into 2 shootouts. That’s *** lot to have happen in 2 hours. I think the Hollister police certainly made an attempt to end his threat and take him into custody, and unfortunately they weren’t successful. We always are hoping for *** peaceful resolution. Solution to every incident like this at every second of that vehicle pursuit, the suspect had the option of pulling over and surrendering. So obviously that’s the goal that we’re always going to have. We used, we use tactics that are standard to try to get this person into custody safely and unfortunately that isn’t the outcome that we had. Yes sir, you’ve been able to count all there’s *** lot of evidence markers to determine. How many rounds were fired? I don’t have that number at this point. This started in Sacramento with *** stolen vehicle from *** dealership there and then *** robbery spree. What happened in if you have knowledge to that? I mean, how did he escape Sacramento and then get onto the peninsula where he committed another crime and then down here to San Jose, more crimes, etc. I don’t have *** lot of details about that. I know the car was stolen and. Sacramento. I know there were robberies both in our jurisdiction and other jurisdictions, and as we speak, there are detectives working from San Jose Police Department and these other agencies to piece all that together and kind of fill in the blanks of that timeline. Chief, can you tell us more about the sergeant and the mayor mentioned his dogs? Did he work with Kine or is that his personal? No, that’s just *** question. You know, it’s an incredibly Helpless, uh, and emotional feeling to see one of your officers lying in *** hospital bed with ***, with *** bullet wound, and, uh, it’s, it’s all I want to do is, is provide him support and comfort, and I just asked him, is there anything that you need? Is there anything I can do for you? And you know, that was the first thing that came to his mind. So he’s not *** canine handler. Can you tell us more about him years of service, let me see if I, I think, I believe I have his years of service. Uh, you know what, we’ll, the PIOs can provide you that after, but he’s *** very accomplished police officer, recently promoted sergeant and outstanding member of this department. Chief Joseph, Joseph G KQED, thanks for some time. So just following on some of the questions about the use of force here. So in addition to, you know, shots which appeared, it sounds like you’re confirming hit the suspect causing him to fall, he’s been run over at *** high speed, uh, certainly *** severe injury if not already on his way, possibly to death. You’re saying he’s still armed. Is there any word that you have preliminarily from your officers who were on scene who have given statements that he was in any way an immediate threat to them or others when he was then unleashed upon by it sounds like several officers based on the audio? Well, I can’t make the same conclusions that you’re making because I don’t know the statements of all the officers, but they will be interviewed. They all have to justify the actions that they took. But I mean, let’s not lose sight of the fact of what we’re dealing with here. We’re dealing with somebody who’s fired at multiple police officers who shot one of our sergeants in the head. Carjacked *** person at *** dealership in San Jose to get the green Corvette, carjacked someone at gunpoint in Hollister, *** passing motorist, to escape after the first officer involved shooting, and clearly didn’t show any signs of surrendering peacefully and needed to be stopped for the safety of the officers involved in our community. I’m not drawing conclusions, Chief, just asking the question at that moment he’s on the ground. He’s been run over at high speed. That’s what I’m asking about. that’s what I can tell you that our investigation will make *** determination about that. Thank you. I think you said earlier at that point he still had *** gun in his hand with *** magazine clip. That’s correct, the extended magazine that you saw in the photo that we presented. Have you ever had *** suspect? Similar to this, it caused that much carnage in so many jurisdictions and impacting so many people in the public. Sure, I mean this, this reminds me of of an incident that I was involved in as *** patrol sergeant where we had individuals commit multiple armed robberies across the city, *** homicide during an attempted carjacking on the west side of San Jose, and then was involved in *** shooting with one of our officers in the area of Tulle 101. It spanned that spanned the entire city. It involved multiple victims. It involved our officer getting shot. And involved an officer involved shooting at the end. I mean they’re thankfully they’re rare. Thankfully this doesn’t happen every day, but when it does happen, we’re prepared to respond and protect the public. Chief, this was *** 100 mile round trip. Did he fire at all at CHP officers while traveling on 101? You know, I’m not certain that’s *** separate investigation being conducted by those jurisdictions, so I don’t have that specific information. I do know that he fired at Hollister police officers and San Benito sheriff’s deputies in the Hollister area. Were any of the puncture devices deployed at all? Could they be, or there wasn’t time to do that, or was that considered? I’m not sure about that. We don’t deploy those devices ourselves, so San Jose police did not deploy those. OK. Is there any reason why you think he ended up in Hollister? Is there any reason those are things that our detectives are investigating again. We don’t, we don’t know exactly. We don’t know *** lot about this person at this point. So those are all things that we’re trying to figure out. There’s plenty more investigation still to go. That sedan that stolen. It’s, it’s, well, it was at the scene and it will be taken into our evidence warehouse. What can you tell us about Mr. Mohammad Hussein and he’s of Davis? That’s the address we have for him. I can’t tell you *** whole lot about him. We don’t release criminal histories on suspects. Is he *** student? I don’t know those things. I don’t know those things about this man. I know, I know all I know about this man is the violent behavior he exhibited over the last 4 days. Given his tactics, it’s been suspected that maybe the suspect. He was into gaming and learn some of the tactics there or he had some sort of military experience. He seemed to know what he was doing maneuvering around cars. Well, I’ll say this he certainly seemed to be prepared for an armed confrontation with the police, and he certainly not only didn’t he back away from us or try to escape, he aggressed on our officer and was. Intent on having *** gun battle with our sergeant, and so I don’t know where he learned those tactics. I don’t know if he learned them online. I don’t know if he learned them through some sort of military training, but I can only comment on what I observed, which was *** very violent and aggressive person who had no problem with confronting law enforcement. Can you talk about the extended magazine? Is that something? That he can buy it in another state or homemade or anything like that to your knowledge. I don’t that’s prohibited in the state of California. Possession of that extended magazine is prohibited here. I don’t know where he got it. That’s something again, there’s many aspects of this investigation we’re still following up on, and that’s one we hope to be able to answer. Do you know how many rounds it holds. I don’t know. I know it’s more than the standard amount, as you can see. It extends beyond the magazine well of the pistol. Sir, one second, sir. You had *** question. Was he prepared? You know, he went, he carjacked from one car to another. Was he carrying ammo with him? I’m not aware of that answer. granular. There’s *** lot of information that we still don’t have because *** lot of people haven’t been interviewed. There’s *** lot of statements that we haven’t received and video we haven’t reviewed either. If you have some very independent questions, please email them to me. I’d be more than happy to answer them. Ultimately we’re kind of getting down to the to the issues that we really. Haven’t solved yet, but we’re confident that they’re going to be solved. We will be sending you an email with all that information with all the photos that you saw on here just to answer one follow up question that sergeant had just short of 13 years of service. Thank you very much. I appreciate it all. We spell the suspect’s last name. We’ll bring it up on the screen. You’ll see it right now.
Suspect named in San Jose-to-Hollister pursuit; sergeant shot in the head, suspect dead
Updated: 3:13 PM PST Jan 22, 2026
San Jose police held a media conference on Thursday to provide an update on the case stemming from an armed carjacking that sparked a multi-agency pursuit into San Benito County before returning to San Jose, where a police sergeant was shot in the head and the suspect later died.San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph identified the suspect as 30-year-old Mohamed Husien of Davis, California.Joseph said the suspect had been involved in a red Corvette theft in the Sacramento area on Jan. 17, 2025. The suspect also allegedly took part in a multi-day crime spree stretching across several cities.Police said the incident began after 2 p.m. near 900 Capitol Expressway, when an armed suspect entered a dealership and stole a green Corvette, leaving before officers arrived. SJPD said helicopters later helped track the vehicle as officers pursued it south toward Hollister.Hollister police said they and San Benito County deputies were alerted around 2:48 p.m. that an SJPD helicopter was tracking a vehicle connected to the carjacking.Officers located the Corvette near Central Avenue and Miller Road around 2:56 p.m. and initiated a slow-speed pursuit.The chase ended near Buena Vista Road and Westside Boulevard after the Corvette became disabled for unknown reasons.Authorities said the suspect got out of the vehicle armed with a handgun and a shooting occurred, though it remains unclear whether one or both sides fired.The suspect ran and was later located by San Benito County Sheriff’s Office deputies near Buena Vista Road and Line Street, where Hollister police said another shootout occurred.Investigators said the suspect then carjacked a second vehicle and drove north back toward San Jose. Back in San Jose, police said the suspect crashed near Julian Street and Highway 87 at around 3:53 p.m., got out, and exchanged gunfire with officers.Authorities said the suspect then attempted to steal another vehicle but was struck by a police vehicle, then was shot by officers while on the ground and still armed, and was declared dead at the scene.Officials said a San Jose police sergeant was shot in the head and taken to the hospital in stable but critical condition and is expected to survive. Joseph said the sergeant suffered a skull fracture.His connection to San Benito County is currently unknown, as details are still being investigated by law enforcement.The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shootings involving Hollister officers, according to Hollister police, and confirmed it will assist with interviewing officers.
SAN JOSE, Calif. —
San Jose police held a media conference on Thursday to provide an update on the case stemming from an armed carjacking that sparked a multi-agency pursuit into San Benito County before returning to San Jose, where a police sergeant was shot in the head and the suspect later died.
San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph identified the suspect as 30-year-old Mohamed Husien of Davis, California.
Joseph said the suspect had been involved in a red Corvette theft in the Sacramento area on Jan. 17, 2025. The suspect also allegedly took part in a multi-day crime spree stretching across several cities.
Police said the incident began after 2 p.m. near 900 Capitol Expressway, when an armed suspect entered a dealership and stole a green Corvette, leaving before officers arrived. SJPD said helicopters later helped track the vehicle as officers pursued it south toward Hollister.
Hollister police said they and San Benito County deputies were alerted around 2:48 p.m. that an SJPD helicopter was tracking a vehicle connected to the carjacking.
Officers located the Corvette near Central Avenue and Miller Road around 2:56 p.m. and initiated a slow-speed pursuit.
The chase ended near Buena Vista Road and Westside Boulevard after the Corvette became disabled for unknown reasons.
Authorities said the suspect got out of the vehicle armed with a handgun and a shooting occurred, though it remains unclear whether one or both sides fired.
The suspect ran and was later located by San Benito County Sheriff’s Office deputies near Buena Vista Road and Line Street, where Hollister police said another shootout occurred.
Investigators said the suspect then carjacked a second vehicle and drove north back toward San Jose. Back in San Jose, police said the suspect crashed near Julian Street and Highway 87 at around 3:53 p.m., got out, and exchanged gunfire with officers.
Authorities said the suspect then attempted to steal another vehicle but was struck by a police vehicle, then was shot by officers while on the ground and still armed, and was declared dead at the scene.
Officials said a San Jose police sergeant was shot in the head and taken to the hospital in stable but critical condition and is expected to survive. Joseph said the sergeant suffered a skull fracture.
His connection to San Benito County is currently unknown, as details are still being investigated by law enforcement.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the shootings involving Hollister officers, according to Hollister police, and confirmed it will assist with interviewing officers.