The latest from AP:

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — A man believed to be the disgruntled employee accused of opening fire on his co-workers at a California limestone quarry was shot and killed by deputies Thursday, authorities said.

Three deputies on routine patrol in a Sunnyvale neighborhood encountered the man matching Shareef Allman’s description around 7:30 a.m., Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said. He was crouched behind a vehicle in the driveway of a home.

The deputies opened fire after the man “displayed in a threatening manner his firearm,” Smith said.

Investigators believe the man is Allman, but the coroner will have to confirm the identity, she said. Read full article

Update 3:35 p.m. From AP: Friend says Calif quarry suspect showed off AK-47

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) — A close friend of the employee accused in a deadly California quarry shooting says the suspect showed off an assault rifle over the weekend and said he would use it at work.

Twenty-year-old Brandon Powell tells The Associated Press that Shareef Allman visited him Saturday at his Sacramento home and showed him a newly purchased AK-47.

When Powell asked what the gun was for, Allman said there were racist people at work who were “messing” with him, then laughed.

Powell says he thought Allman was joking. Many of Allman’s friends have described him as a devoted father and community volunteer never known to be violent.

Authorities say Allman fatally shot three co-workers and wounded six others Wednesday during a work meeting in Cupertino.

They haven’t discussed a specific motive, other than to say the suspect was disgruntled.

Update 3:30 p.m. The Merc is reporting the following:

Valeri Allman obtained a restraining order against Shareef Allman 20 years ago. She alleged her husband had assaulted her on several occasions during their marriage, which lasted about three years. On one occasion, she said he hit her in the head with a lamp, knocking her out.

Update 12:45 p.m. Chilling article from the Merc today in which one of Allman’s shooting victims at the quarry recounts the attack. Mike Ambrosio, who says he played dead during the rampage after being shot in the arm, paints a portrait of Allman as a disgruntled, poor performer on the job:

“He thought everybody was after him,” Ambrosio said in an exclusive interview Wednesday afternoon with the Mercury News. “He wasn’t thinking no more.”

Ambrosio, a union leader and truck driver who has worked for 16 years at Lehigh Hanson’s Permanente Cement Plant in Cupertino, recounted the five- to eight-minute predawn rampage that left three of his co-workers dead, including a cousin whom he had helped get the job, and five injured.

“You guys want to (expletive) with me? You want to (expletive) with me?” Ambrosio recalled Allman angrily saying as he shot his co-workers.

“Everyone was jumping under the table. Some sitting at the table were shot in the stomach,” Ambrosio recalled….

Lying under the table, Ambrosio covered his face with his bleeding arm and pretended he was dead. When the gunfire stopped, Allman stooped to look under the table “to make sure I was dead,” Ambrosio said….

Allman had worked at the plant for 15 years. While he was respected by his wide circle of friends in San Jose’s African-American community, he had a poor performance record at the company, Ambrosio said. Allman felt as though the company, and some of his co-workers, were out to get him, Ambrosio said. Two weeks earlier, Allman had refused to pose for a photo with his colleagues at the plant, saying, “I don’t want to take my picture with back stabbers.”

Before the shooting began Wednesday, a supervisor was leading the weekly meeting, which included a discussion about rescheduling a farewell party for another employee. Allman piped up, Ambrosio said: “If we ain’t gonna have no party, give me my $10 back.” Then Allman “pulled out the gun and started.”

Ambrosio, who is the union shop steward, also says that he told Allman less than a week ago that that he was going to stop representing him to management because of numerous safety violations.

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Read the full article here.

Update 12:06 p.m. From KNTV, a video interview with a man who says he’s known Shareef Allman for decades and loves him “like he’s my brother.”

“Shareef’s a lovable guy. If you ever came in contact with him, you’d say look at that guy, he’s a happy man.”

Update 11:58 a.m. Information from the press conference by Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith:

-Deputies had saturated the area with both marked and unmarked vehicles. But it was actually deputies on routine patrol who saw a subject matching description.

-Subject was crouched behind a vehicle, in the driveway of a residence, a few blocks away from where he attempted carjacking at HP, about 5 miles away from the quarry where original shootings took place.

-Deputies attempted to make contact. He was armed with handgun, which he “did display in a threatening manner.” All three deputies fired shots. The subject was pronounced dead at the scene. 2 male, one female deputy, with various levels of experience.

-Officers were all in vehicles, one marked, one unmarked, 2 in one, 1 in the other. They had been patrolling and were talking with each other. One of the deputies saw movement and that’s when they acted.

-Firearm recovered

-“Right now we believe it is the subject. Coroners’ office will have to make a positive ID.”

-Sunnyvale Dept of Public Safety is now handling entire investigation and will provide additional info as becomes available. Sheriff’s deputies are being interviewed by Sunnyvale detectives.

-A video exists of the suspect leaving a gas station where he dumped his car

-Local law enforcement worked throughout night with a U.S. Marshall team on fugitive apprehension

Video of the full press conference:

Update 11:23 a.m. Looks they’re getting set up for the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s press conference. Watch a live video feed at KGO.

Update 10:25 a.m. From the Merc: “Sheriff Laurie Smith has scheduled an 11:30 a.m. press conference at the sheriff’s headquarters in San Jose, which had been the command center for the manhunt.”

Update 9:40 a.m. From the Merc: Profiles of the shooting victims

Update 9:25 a.m. KGO is reporting that law enforcement personnel have told them that the suspect was indeed Shareef Allman.

Update 9:16 a.m. Live news conference by John Pilger, Sunnyvale Public Information Officer:

-Physical description of man shot and killed is very similar to Allman, but no official ID yet.
-No reports of offices injured
-Investigation still going on
-Neighborhood re-opened
-Santa Clara Sheriff’s deputies were involved in the shooting
-Sunnyvale Police have taken over

Update 8:49 a.m. The Merc now says it has confirmed Allman has been killed:

Law enforcement sources have confirmed triple homicide suspect Shareef Allman has been shot and killed in Sunnyvale.

Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies were involved in the shooting that happened at about 7:20 a.m. in Sunnyvale, according to Lt. Rick Sung.

Also from today’s Merc: Cupertino cement plant shooting victim recalls bloody morning

Update 8:47 a.m.

Various media reports on Allman’s status:

KCBS Radio: Shot and killed
Mercury News: “Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jose Cardoza confirmed that Allman was shot this morning after being located at a house in Sunnyvale but did not say if the suspect was still alive.
KTVU TV: Shot and killed
KRON TV: In custody

Update 8:45 a.m. KCBS Radio says they have confirmed Allman has been shot and killed.

Update 8:40 a.m. KRON continues to report that he’s in custody.

Update 8:39 a.m. KGO has a live video feed from the scene in Sunnyvale.

Update 8:35 a.m. You can also listen for live updates at KCBS Radio.

Update 8:31 a.m. KTVU is reporting that Allman has been shot and killed. If you look at this log of Sunnyvale police communications from RadioReference.com, you’ll find this:

OFFICER ASSIST
10/06/11 07:46 (SUNNYVALE – 155.7000) UPDATE: DEPUTIES ON SCENE CONFIRM SUSPECT IS DOWN AND DEAD ON ARRIVAL/DECEASED [SFO013]

Update 8:25 a.m. From RadioReference.com: You can listen to Santa Clara County Fire, San Jose Fire, and CAL FIRE channels.

Update 8:22 a.m. KRON TV is reporting that Allman has been arrested, as recently as 30 minutes ago. Which would mean he has not been killed, as some reports had indicated.

Update 8:20 a.m. Here’s a Mercury News map from of the area being searched, with locations relating to the incident highlighted:

View South Bay shooting, Oct. 5 in a larger map

Update 8:15 a.m. From the Mercury News:

Shareef Allman, the man suspected of killing three people and wounding seven others during a workplace shooting, has been shot and killed this morning, according to a report by NBC-11. Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Jose Cardoza confirmed that Allman was shot this morning after being located in a house in Sunnyvale but did not say if the suspect was still alive.

Update 8:12 a.m. From KNTV:

According to early reports, shortly after resuming the manhunt this morning, Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies report that multiple shots have been fired at the suspect, with the suspect killed near the 900 block of Lorne Way in the city of Santa Clara.

An “officer assist” call was reported at 7:41 a.m. this morning, according to an emailed report from authorities.

Update 8:03 a.m. KRON TV is reporting that a law enforcement spokesperson is hinting at an arrest in the same Sunnvale neighborhood, near Homestead and Wolf, in which police have been searching for Shareef Allman.

7:52 a.m. From the San Jose Mercury News:

Report of shots fired in area of search for Cupertino shooting suspect

Police are scrambling to the area of the manhunt for the Cupertino three-homicide suspect after there were reports of shots being fired at around 7:35 a.m.:

Police from several agencies had been focusing the search today in a neighborhood near Homestead Road, where shooting suspect Shareef Allman was last seen Wednesday morning after allegedly attempting to carjack a woman in a Hewlett-Packard parking lot.

Allman, a 47-year-old heavy equipment operator at Lehigh Hanson’s Permanente Cement Plant, had been in a safety meeting with more than a dozen co-workers when, police say, he pulled a gun from his waistband and began shooting. One of the survivors of the shooting told the Mercury News that Allman was under pressure at work after repeated accusations of driving recklessly at the quarry. Full story

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