The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department said there is surveillance video that shows Shareef Allman walking around with a rifle shortly after his shooting rampage at the Cupertino quarry where he worked. The video was taken from a security camera at a business not too far from the Sunnyvale neighborhood where three deputies, out on patrol, shot Allman dead Thursday morning. The sheriff says deputies spotted him crouched down behind a car at a home on Lorne Way.
"Our deputies attempted to make contact with the suspect and the suspect was armed with a handgun. All three of our deputies that were present at the scene fired shots and the subject was pronounced dead at the scene," said Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith.
There are at least 37 bullet holes on the garage door and on the two vehicles officers say were parked in the driveway where Allman was hiding. Neighbors say they're relieved deputies found Allman before he was able to hurt anyone else. Gary Spears lives only a few houses down from where Allman was shot.
"I've got my daughter and grandson here and she went to work at 6 o'clock this morning. And she thought she heard a twig or something break over here. He could have been waiting around over here," said Spears.
Allman went into a routine safety meeting at the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant in Cupertino and shot nine co-workers Wednesday morning. Three people were killed and six others were wounded. Three hours later, police say Allman attempted to carjack a woman's car at a gas station five miles from the concrete quarry. The woman was wounded by a gunshot.
Allman then ran into a residential neighborhood. Sheriff's deputies, local police and federal agents scoured the neighborhood Wednesday evening into Thursday looking for Allman. Authorities went door to door, searching homes and backyards, but Allman had vanished. Two assault rifles, a shotgun and a handgun were recovered from various locations.
A union rep says Allman had just come off a three week suspension after being involved in an accident.
"He was a little unhappy or disappointed that he received a three-week suspension, but that was it. He was not angry about it," said Bill Hoyt, from Teamsters Local 287.
Thursday evening, the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office positively identified Allman as the man who was fatally shot by sheriff's deputies earlier in the day in Sunnyvale.
Neighbor Amanda Laughlin knew Allman had eluded a massive manhunt, but they felt secure knowing that police and sheriff's deputies were all around the neighborhood Wednesday evening, but on Thursday morning she heard gunshots.
"I wasn't even sure it was gunshots," Laughlin said, adding that she heard seven gunshots in a row.
Neighbor Dhiraj Sharan was allowed back in his home Wednesday evening, thinking he and his family was safe. The shooting Thursday morning left him shaken.
"I thought things (were) OK, but now it gives me the chills," Sharan said. "It's not really OK."
According to the Associated Press, a close friend of Allman said the shooting suspect showed off an AK-47 assault rifle.
Brandon Powell told the AP that Allman suggested taking a gun to the quarry several days before the attack. Powell dismissed the claim as a joke when Allman visited him Saturday in Sacramento.
Powell asked Allman what the AK-47 was for, to which Allman allegedly replied, "There's some racist people at my job. They're messing with me," the AP reported.
