San Jose police arrested one man early Saturday and were looking for a second after a series of robberies, a high-speed chase and a shootout with officers late Friday night.
One officer barely escaped a fusillade of bullets, police said.
After four robberies in the city earlier Friday, an officer tried to pull over a car on Highway 101 around 9 p.m. that fit the description of the getaway car used in the robberies, police spokesman Sgt. Jason Dwyer said Saturday.
But instead of stopping, the driver of the car led the officer on a pursuit that eventually ended on a surface street, Dwyer said.
One of the suspects opened fire, hitting the officer's squad car several times, but barely missing the officer as he ducked for cover, Dwyer said.
"He was trying to get down and get some cover,'' Dwyer said. ``Rounds struck the windshield and the driver's side window. He's lucky to be alive.''
The officer, a 10-year veteran of the department, wasn't hit directly from any rounds but suffered minor injuries from bullet fragments and fragments from his pepper spray canister when the canister was hit by a round and exploded, Dwyer said.
A second officer, who had pulled up in a separate police car, opened fire on the suspects.
At that point, one of the suspects jumped back in the car and drove away, while the second suspect ran from the area.
Both officers, including the injured officer, pursued the suspect, with the suspect eventually crashing the car in a residential neighborhood, Dwyer said.
The suspect tried to escape capture by running into a house, but the residents ran out and told officers converging on the scene that a man had run into their home. He was taken into custody without incident.
Police say the suspect suffered a non-life threatening wound in the shootout. His name has not been released.
The injured officer was treated at a hospital and is expected to recover. The officer who returned fire after the initial stop was not hurt.
Police were still looking for the second suspect.
Based on witness descriptions, police believe both men had held up a pizza restaurant, a gas station and a fast-food restaurant and a person on a street, Dwyer said.
