A recently evicted man demanding his keys broke into an apartment at the San Jose complex last week and held a mother and her two sons hostage with a machete before being shot and killed by police, authorities said Monday.
The "volatile and high-risk situation," which unfolded over the course of about 50 minutes Wednesday night on the 900 block of Boynton Avenue in West San Jose, appeared to be a case of mistaken identity, San Jose police Chief Anthony Mata said.
The suspect, Eliobert Gonzalez-Rocha, and the family did not know each other, Mata said. Authorities believe Gonzalez-Rocha may have been seeking out apartment management.
"This traumatic and terrifying incident will remain with this family for the rest of their lives," Mata said. "It is also an incident that will affect the rest of the officers that were present that night, especially the officer who saved their lives by taking another."
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Armed with two machetes, a replica gun and a metal pole, Gonzalez-Rocha broke into the family's apartment through a sliding glass door, Mata said. He then repeatedly threatened to kill the mother and her two sons, ages 7 and 18, if they didn't hand over his keys.
The first officer to arrive at the apartment saw Gonzalez-Rocha inside holding a machete, Mata said. Officers surrounded the residence and told Gonzalez-Rocha in English and Spanish to drop the weapon and exit the apartment. He never responded to the officers' commands.
Officers, having determined that Gonzalez-Rocha had taken the family hostage, later saw him holding a machete as the mother and her sons held their hands up, Mata said. At one point, the mother managed to put her younger son in a nearby closet to keep him safe.
Gonzalez-Rocha, seen standing over the mother and the older son, told her to tie her son's hands with an electrical cord before ordering them both to kneel and face away from him, Mata said. Watching Gonzalez-Rocha become more agitated and raise the machete over the family members, officers broke into the apartment.
"Officers believed that the situation was escalated and also believed that the family’s lives were in immediate and mortal danger," Mata said.
One officer opened fire, striking Gonzalez-Rocha more than once, Mata said. Other officers rescued the family and took Gonzalez-Rocha into custody. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Last week, Telemundo 48 spoke with the father of the family. He was in the apartment complex doing laundry when he returned home to find Gonzalez-Rocha in the home. He said Gonzalez-Rocha was angry and demanded he get the apartment manager or else something bad was going to happen.
The father went to look for the manager but couldn't find them. When he came back, officers were surrounding the home.
The officer who shot Gonzalez-Rocha was wearing a body camera, Mata said. Footage from the camera will be released in the coming weeks. The officer was placed on administrative leave.
It wasn't immediately known if drug use or mental health were factors in the incident, Mata said.
An investigation is ongoing.
