California

Authorities Thwart Central California Man's Attempt to Kill Three Bay Area Doctors

Authorities across the state of California last week thwarted a would-be killer from slaying three Bay Area doctors, the Palo Alto Police Department announced Tuesday.

Yue Chen of Visalia was arrested last Wednesday after officers determined the 58-year-old drove from Central California to the Bay Area with the intent to shoot and kill his doctors because he was upset about his medical condition and medical treatment performed by the physicians, according to police.

"We feel pretty confident of what his intent was and that if we hadn't been able to, in a sort of a time sensitive way, coordinate our efforts, that we would be investigating at least one homicide, if not multiple homicides at this point," Lt. James Reifschneider from the Palo Alto Police Department said.

Visalia police first notified Palo Alto police about Chen's proposed hit attempt last Wednesday, according to police. Officers in Visalia found that Chen had been reported missing, along with his two legally-owned handguns. Turns out Chen rented a car and began his journey to the Bay Area.

A host of law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area were notified about Chen's movement as well as the work and home locations of the doctors believed to be in harm's way, according to Palo Alto police.

Later Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol spotted Chen driving in the rental car on Highway 101 near Hellyer Avenue in San Jose, according to Palo Alto police. Chen was detained without incident, and officers found two guns with loaded, high-capacity magazines in the car.

Chen was transported to a local hospital to receive treatment for his condition, according to police. When he was released later that evening, Chen was transported to the Santa Clara County Jail and booked for attempted murder and carrying a loaded firearm.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Officer later filed three felony counts of attempted murder against Chen, according to Palo Alto police.

Police are still gathering information at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call Palo Alto police at 650-329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can email paloalto@tipnow.com or text 650-383-8984. People can also leave an anonymous voice mail at that number.

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