An off-duty San Jose police officer's personal vehicle was struck by gunfire on northbound U.S. Highway 101 on Tuesday afternoon but the officer was not injured, police said.
The shooting was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 1:42 p.m. on northbound Highway 101 near the interchange with state Highway 85.
The officer reported his car was struck at least one in the shooting but he was not injured, police said.
“Very thankful our officer was not injured, he could have obviously been seriously injured or killed, so just extremely thankful for him and his family,” said Sean Pritchard, president of the San Jose Police Officers Association.
He said the off-duty officer was on his way to work and was clearly shaken up.
“With the rise in ambushes on law enforcement officers obviously enters our minds right away, it's unclear at this time if this officer was targeted,” said Pritchard.
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The officer told the California Highway Patrol he didn’t see a gun but did hear a pop and described the suspect vehicle as a white hatchback with no license plates that was being driven by a man.
Community members say it’s a tragedy but not surprising.
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“I've definitely heard of a few others which are actually similar. It obviously has an effect on others' fear about their safety around here,” said a San Jose resident.
A few months ago, a Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputy reported getting shot at as he was driving on southbound State Route 85, just a few miles from Tuesday's incident.
Police say these types of freeway shootings and other deadly incidents have been plaguing the Bay Area for the past three years.
Which is what pushed the governor's office to announce a pilot program that would put 200 cameras in 50 freeway locations in the Bay Area and in Southern California.
Last week, Caltrans confirmed some of those cameras may soon be going up in counties like Alameda and Contra Costa.
“I know there is always a lot of concerns from others out in the public about privacy concerns but these are really utilized for the protection of the community,” said Pritchard.
Anyone with information about Tuesday's shooting is asked to call the CHP's Hollister-Gilroy area office at (408) 848-2324.
