Deputies: Armed man fatally shot by officer in Saratoga
SARATOGA, Calif. (KGO) -- A sheriff's deputy fatally shot a man in an armed confrontation in a quiet South Bay community, officials say.
Santa Clara sheriff's deputies were called to a house on Titus Avenue and Prospect Road in Saratoga, not too far away from an elementary school. Deputies say the man inside the house raised a firearm at deputies who were simply trying to make sure he was okay. The deputies said they told him several times to drop his weapon and he did not.
Today a sleepy Saratoga street is cluttered with yellow tape. The Santa Clara Sheriff's Department says the situation started with someone requesting a welfare check at a house on Titus Avenue.
"They haven't heard from him in several weeks, so our deputies were out here trying to make contact with the person in the residence," said Santa Clara Sheriff's Dept Lt. James Jensen.
Jensen says the deputies arrived around 7:50 last night. Deputies spent nearly an hour trying to make contact. Finally they approached the back door.
"As they made entry into the backdoor, the subject had his firearm in his hand, he raised it at the deputies, the deputies gave him several commands to drop the firearm, a sheriff's deputy shot him," said Jensen.
He was taken to the hospital where he died. The investigation blocked off access to the driveways for Christa McAuliffe Elementary overnight and through much of the morning.
"They just opened, we're lucky, school starts at 8:30 a.m. so we'll be able to route most of the traffic in a normal pattern now," said Wendy Gudalewicz, Cupertino School District Superintendent.
The district superintendent says teachers are ready to answer student questions about all the sheriff's vehicles parked outside.
"They can explain if the children need that kind of support," said Gudalewicz.
Jensen says deputies have visited this house before, he wouldn't say why. The deputy who shot the man is a veteran and is currently on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol.
