Lethal shooting near World Cup fan zone an isolated incident, say San Jose police

Mayor of San Jose Matt Mahan said the “brazenness” of the shooting was unacceptable given the location it took place. PHOTO: REUTERS

SAN JOSE, California - A suspected drive-by shooting in San Jose, California, that killed one person and injured another near the Bay Area’s main site for World Cup watch parties was an isolated incident and not related to the tournament, police said on June 29.

A man was shot outside a ramen restaurant and pronounced dead less than 200m away from the San Pedro Square fan zone late on June 28, while a second adult male collapsed in the square where thousands of World Cup fans have gathered to watch matches, witnesses told Reuters.

The second victim was in hospital in critical condition but expected to survive, police said.

A San Jose Police Department spokesperson said on June 29 that the victims were San Jose residents who were travelling together by foot and a suspect approached them in a car and fled after the shooting.

Police are investigating the case as homicide, and said the motive and circumstances were unclear.

“I want to make clear that, although this was an isolated incident and unrelated to any World Cup watch activities, we understand the importance of fans and visitors feeling safe when coming to downtown San Jose,” spokesperson Stacie Shih told reporters.

“The San Jose Police Department will be ensuring high visibility in and around the area. So, again, this is to make sure that our fans and visitors have a safe experience when they visit downtown San Jose.”

There were no World Cup games being screened at the fan zone at the time of the shooting which police responded to around 9.12pm on June 28.

Staff at a ramen restaurant about a block away from the fan zone confirmed to Reuters on June 29 that a victim of the shooting had died metres from their door.

The other victim ran through a car park and collapsed in the fan-zone outside bars where he was attended to by medics, a bartender who witnessed the scene told Reuters on June 29.

“This shooting happened near an area where families and fans have been gathering for our World Cup watch parties, and that makes the brazenness of this crime even more unacceptable,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said in a statement on June 28.

“I am grateful that Sunday’s programming had ended hours earlier, and there is no indication this violence was connected to the event.

“San Jose has safely welcomed hundreds of thousands of people downtown, and we are not going to let one criminal act scare our community away from public spaces that belong to them.”

Security staff and police cleared San Pedro Square after the shooting and cordoned off the fan-zone.

On June 29, the fan-zone was open and more than 100 fans watched the World Cup last-32 match between Japan and Brazil at the square which is lined by restaurants and bars.

Fans were watching the match on a big screen at the same spot where the injured victim was treated by medics the night before.

One street-front entrance to the fan-zone which was previously open was blocked by gates on June 29. Reuters counted six police officers in different parts of the fan zone and multiple security guards up and down the square.

One security guard outside the square told Reuters he was not doing bag-checks of fans entering and was only stopping fans bringing alcohol into the square.

Carlos Amarilla, a 32-year-old fan from Paraguay on vacation, was watching at the square on June 29 and said he generally felt safe.

“I heard about the incident of last night but I read a little on social media and I understood it was something managed and one could go out regularly today,” he told Reuters.

“I believe that truly many people come here to enjoy, share, get to know the atmosphere of the party of the World Cup but there are always people who are looking to disrupt the atmosphere and make disturbances and those end in incidents happening.”

FIFA declined to comment on the incident but a source said world soccer’s governing body was in constant touch with the authorities on measures related to fan safety. REUTERS