A veteran San Jose police officer remained in critical but stable condition Thursday morning after an ambush shooting Wednesday, and her partner is being hailed as a hero.
The injured officer has not been identified, but the police department said she has been with SJPD for 10 years, and she's the department's first female officer to be shot in the line of duty. She's the second San Jose officer to be shot this year in what the police chief called a "heinous and cowardly act."
At about 8 a.m. Wednesday, the officer and her partner responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the area of Meridian and Auzerais avenues, west of downtown San Jose. A woman had called police to report her husband was drunk, was trying to hit her and had broken down a bathroom door, police said.
One of the officers tried to call out to the front door balcony of the home, police said, and the suspect, identified as 44-year-old Gabriel Carreras, came out and shot the officer once in the torso, outside her bulletproof vest.
Carreras then barricaded himself inside the home with his wife.
"What followed next was an act of undeniable courage that few of us will ever experience," police Chief Anthony Mata said. "Without hesitation or consideration for himself, the officer's partner extracted the victim officer from the line of fire to a place of safety where he began to treat her injuries."
Assemblymember Evan Low, who represents Silicon Valley, confirmed on social media that his brother is the San Jose officer who pulled the injured officer to safety.
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"Please send your encouragement to the officer who remains in the hospital and to my brother, who is my hero," Low wrote. "Yes, my support for law enforcement is deeply personal, but they should also have your support. They risk this for all of us."
Carreras was arrested after a four-hour standoff with police. He was taken to a hospital with unknown injuries, police said. As a convicted felon on probation in possession of a firearm, he faces multiple felony charges.
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It was not immediately clear when Carreras would make his first court appearance.
