Cupertino Shooting Suspect Killed, Neighbors Express Relief
CUPERTINO, Calif. – The Cupertino quarry shooting suspect Shareef Allman has been shot and killed by Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies in a Sunnyvale neighborhood. Residents in the area expressed relief.
The shooting happened at about 7:20 a.m. PDT on the 900 block of Lorne Way, just north of Homestead Road and east of Wolfe Road, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Dept. spokesman Lt. Rick Sung.
Apparently, suspect Shareef Allman knew someone who lives in this neighborhood. It is also where law enforcement agents conducted door-to-door search for the last 24 hours to pursue Allman after his disappearance. Though ground-based searches were halted around 7:30 p.m. PDT Wednesday, helicopters equipped with thermal vision continued the manhunt from the air overnight.
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Alice Ishida, 66, who lives two doors down from where the shooting happened on Lorne Way, told the San Francisco Chronicle that she had been concerned when police left her street for the night.
"We were very nervous and I just wanted him to be captured," Ishida said.
David Kloba, 41, who lives next door to where the shooting of Allman occurred, described seven to ten shots in rapid succession, according to San Francisco Chronicle.
Kloba said, "I'm just happy they got the guy, and I'm happy it's over."
Two hours after the shooting, police have started allowing residents on Lorne Way to leave their homes, but are asking them for their names and phone numbers.
Pastors of several African American churches and community leaders who are friends of Allman held a press conference at the African American Community Service Agency in downtown San Jose Wednesday afternoon. They promised to help the alleged gunman turn himself in safely.
“We want to say to Shareef- please if you can hear us, we are praying for you right now and we are hoping that you would just turn yourself in and bring this to an end,” Rev. Lee Wilson, senior pastor of Open Bible Faith Community Church, made his personal plea through the media.
“We don’t understand and we don’t know why, but we know that there could be a better way to end it than how it started,” he added.
Allman was described by the African American community as a peacemaker who campaigned against domestic violence and acted as a mentor to troubled youths. Members of the community were shocked and puzzled by Allman’s involvement with the quarry rampage.
Sheriff Laurie Smith has scheduled an 11:30 a.m. PDT press conference today at the sheriff's headquarters in San Jose, the command center for the manhunt.
Hudson Tsuei contributed to this report from Cupertino, Calif.
