A Davis man had been on a violent crime spree for several days before leading the region’s law enforcement agencies to Hollister and back to San Jose—exchanging gunfire with police along the way—where he was killed by officers, according to authorities.
Just before 4pm Jan. 21, Mohamed Husien, 30, crashed a stolen vehicle—which he had taken at gunpoint from a victim in Hollister—near the intersection of Julian Street and Notre Dame Avenue in San Jose, Chief Paul Joseph said in a press conference.
With dozens of officers and patrol cars behind him, Husien exited the car, immediately began firing a handgun at police and shot a San Jose PD sergeant in the head, Joseph said. The sergeant was released from the hospital on Thursday and is expected to survive.
Officers fired back, shooting Husien multiple times and running over him with a police patrol car, resulting in fatal injuries, Joseph said.
The suspect’s death “marked the end of a violent, multi-day crime spree involving multiple armed robberies, at least two carjackings, stolen vehicles and a firearm equipped with an extended magazine.
“(At) least six law enforcement agencies…pursued the suspect across multiple jurisdictions as he placed countless community members in danger as gun battles unfolded in several cities.”
One of those cities was Hollister, where local police and San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies joined the pursuit of Husien about 3pm. Husien was driving a green Corvette he had stolen from a dealership in San Jose, and was being pursued by a San Jose Police helicopter, authorities said.
Officers in Hollister engaged the Corvette in a slow-speed pursuit that ended in the area of Buena Vista Road at Westside Boulevard, police said.
For an unknown reason, the vehicle became disabled at that location. Husien exited the vehicle armed with a handgun, and exchanged gunfire with officers, according to Hollister PD.
The suspect fled the area on foot and sheriff’s deputies found him in the area of Buena Vista Road and Line Street, where another officer-involved shooting resulted, authorities said. He continued to run and carjacked another vehicle at gunpoint.
No officers or deputies were injured during the Hollister incident.
The suspect fled in the carjacked vehicle toward San Jose at high speeds, shooting at pursuing officers along the way, police said.
San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor said in a statement that in one of the shootings in Hollister, a deputy sheriff “engaged in a gunfight with the suspect who was actively trying to murder” the officer.
“I truly cannot adequately express how grateful I am of the men and women who work for this office,” Taylor said. “By the grace of God, our deputy was not hit by the many bullets that were fired at him yesterday.”
The deputy and a Hollister Police officer are on administrative leave in relation to the shootings, according to authorities.
Husien’s violent crime spree began days earlier, according to the San Jose police chief.
On Jan. 17, the suspect stole a red Corvette from a dealership in the Sacramento area. He then committed two armed robberies, of a convenience store and a liquor store. The next day, Husien robbed two more victims.
San Jose Police located the red car on Jan. 21 and engaged in a short pursuit, Joseph said. Officers lost the suspect, but found the Corvette unoccupied a short time later.
At 2pm, police responded to a report of an armed carjacking on Capitol Expressway, where the same suspect had stolen a green Corvette, Joseph said.
Officers continued to search for Husien and the stolen car, and San Jose’s helicopter located him traveling south toward Hollister, police said.
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the officer-involved shootings in Hollister. The officer-involved shootings in San Jose are under investigation by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, as well as SJPD staff.
