83-year-old man arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting neighbor, San Jose police say
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An 83-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of a fatal shooting of another man in San Jose on Monday evening, according to police.
Bert McElhaney is accused of the shooting that officers responded to at 6:39 p.m. in the 2100 block of Almaden Road. They arrived and found the shooting victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His name was not immediately available.
David McLean, who lives in the mobile home park where it happened says the victim was a friend.
"I've known him 20 years," he said, "He was always giving the shirt off his back."
McElhaney's public defender denied ABC7's request for an interview.
RELATED: Family faces grief, challenges after 6 kids lose both parents in double murder-suicide in SJ
McLean and other neighbors tell me the suspect had recently been through his own tragedy.
"He lost his wife a couple of weeks ago," McLean said. "And he just hasn't been the same since."
The wife of the victim spoke off-camera with ABC7 News Tuesday afternoon. She said she her husband was her caregiver and she will miss him immensely.
VIDEO: 'Such a good heart': Family mourns SJ security guard killed in double murder-suicide
Investigators were able to identify McElhaney as the suspect and took him into custody at a home in San Jose. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on Tuesday morning, according to police.
San Jose police did not release any details on what led to the fatal shooting, which is the city's 20th homicide in 2022. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Vallejo or Detective Harrington of the department's homicide unit at 3810@sanjoseca.gov or 4365@sanjoseca.gov or (408) 277-5283.
The Bay City News Service contributed to this article.
If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
