Traffic was still backed up into Friday evening on Stevens Creek Blvd. following an early-afternoon police chase that ended with an office-involved shooting in the Villa shopping plaza. San José police responded to a call reporting a naked man chasing people at Valerie Drive and Eva Court in San José.
The man, identified Monday as John Bradley Bowles, fled in a pickup truck and smashed into several vehicles before turning into the shopping plaza and crashing into a police car. Bowles refused to comply with the police orders and appeared to be aiming a weapon at officers, according to police.
A Santa Clara man, who declined to give his name, said that he heard what sounded like gunshots as he was leaving Safeway. “I looked across the parking lot and saw cop cars arriving from everywhere.” Bowles’ truck was riddled with bullet holes, and four shots can be heard in a YouTube video posted on Friday afternoon.
The incident is under investigation by San José PD and the Santa Clara County District Attorney. Three SJPD officers have been put on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. As of press time, Bowles was in critical condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.