The subject of a massive manhunt in the South Bay is a volunteer producer for the San Jose cable access station CreaTV.
Shareef Allman is accused of a mass workplace shooting at a South Bay rock quarry that left three people dead.
Word of that shooting sent shockwaves to the people who knew Allman as a community activist and doting father.
He was seen in YouTube videos interviewing Jesse Jackson as well as hosting a community access talk show. The Jackson clip was dated Septemeber 24, 2010, and lists Allman as executive producer and host.
Allman also authored a fiction book titled "Saving Grace" on the subject of domestic violence.
CreaTV issued the following statement following the shooting:
"Shareef Allman was one of 130 Community producers at CreaTV. He is not an employee. Our hearts go out to the families who were affected by this. This is not the Shareef we knew, at all."
Suzanne St. John-Crane
Executive Director, CreaTV San Jose
Local
Police said Allman walked into a meeting at his workplace in Cupertino at 4:15 a.m. Wednesday morning and opened fire. The meeting included about 15 people according to Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. She said in all ten people were shot with three of the nine dead. Authorities said three hours later Allman shot a woman after failing to steal her car in an HP parking lot, then fled into a neighborhood in nearby Sunnyvale.
Allman's neighbors in San Jose told reporters they were shocked to hear that he was the man they heard about on the news was Allman. One man told the Mercury News that he had spoken to Allman a couple days ago about growing up in the hood and finding a way to turn their life around. "It makes no sense," Albert Salazar said. "He must have snapped. I couldn't believe it when I heard it was him this morning."
A YouTube clip of Allman interviewing Jesse Jackson was taken down by CreaTV, but NBC Bay Area obtained a portion of the clip before it was taken down.
Allman also hosted a show called Reel 2 Reel at CreaTV. Qwen Mejia co-hosted that show with him on occasion called Qwen's Couch. She told NBC Bay Area's Kris Sanchez she has known Allman for years and was devastated to hear that he was the gunman police were looking for.
She said she never saw any sign of a temper. She said Allman lived for his daughter and can't imagine what could have pushed him to the point of snapping. She also pleaded with him to turn himself in.
Below is a clip of Reel 2 Reel. In it he talks about himself and how his struggles in his childhood impacted him as an adult.
