An armed man, Abran Gutierrez, was fatally shot by Redwood City police on Nov. 15.
At around 3 p.m., the Redwood City police’s 911 dispatch received an unresponsive emergency call, according to a press release. Though the caller did not speak directly to the dispatcher, children could be heard screaming in the background.
A follow-up call was sent to voicemail, prompting the dispatcher to use cell data to pinpoint the caller’s location, which was around the 1500 block of El Camino Real, Redwood City. Police officers were then dispatched to the area.
Upon arrival, police noticed a man, a woman, and three young children in a nearby car. According to the press release, the man was armed with a gun and was using the children to shield himself.
“The police backed off, a perimeter was set up, and they attempted to negotiate with a man while he was inside the car. The woman was also inside the car with the man and the children,” said Redwood City police chief Dan Mulholland to the reporters on the scene.
Officers then determined that Gutierrez was attempting to shoot the children and woman, so they responded with “lethal force.”
As the shots went off, people in the surrounding area started running away from their cars.
Witness, Kevin Jacoubowsky, described the scene seconds before the shooting.
“We were all just kind of looking at it—eyeballing the situation, seeing that it was getting kinda tense. And then hearing, ‘We’re here to help you! Put the gun down!’ Then I heard two gunshots initially, followed by a series more,” Jacoubowsky told ABC7 News.
Following the firing, the police seized Gutierrez’s gun and gave him CPR. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to Steve Wagstaffe, the San Mateo County district attorney officer, there is no evidence showing that Gutierrez fired his gun.
Police reported that the woman sustained injuries unrelated to the shooting and was taken to the hospital, but the children were not injured.
“The woman in the car was clearly very distressed and eventually went into an ambulance. I could hear her clearly from my balcony. She said something along the lines of, ‘It’s not even his kid,'” Breana Hume told NBC Bay Area.
The woman may have been pregnant, and her relationship with Gutierrez remains undisclosed.
The police officers at the scene remained unscathed.
All the officers involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave and are pending further investigation.
* Updated Nov. 25, 2022
