Investigation Underway into Third Fatal Fremont Police Shooting in Two Months

Two Fremont police officers shot and killed a man late Sunday night in an incident that prompted a response from half-a-dozen local law enforcement agencies.

The shooting marks the third time in the last nine weeks that officers with the East Bay police department have been involved in a fatal officer-involved shooting.

The two officers who took part in the most recent incident are on administrative leave and the shooting has prompted two investigations, one by Fremont police and the other by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

The incident on Sunday night began with a request from the East Bay Regional Parks District police. One of that agency's officers was at a 7-Eleven near Decoto Road and Fremont Boulevard shortly before midnight.

"He had come in contact with a vehicle ... and there was a gun involved, multiple subjects," said Fremont police Sgt. Ricardo Cortes.

The parks district officer called for help in what's known as a "Code 3 cover," according to Cortes. That is a call for nearby officers to drop what they're doing, unless they're working an emergency, and head to the scene.

Numerous officers responded and detained some of the vehicle's passengers, but one man fled. He was found behind a nearby Walgreens.

Two officers shot and killed the man, who died at the scene.

It's unclear what prompted the park district officer to call for such a strong response and whether one of the passengers in the car was holding a firearm.

The investigation will aim to determine what prompted the officers to open fire, Cortes said. Police have not said if the officers felt threatened or if a gun was found at the scene. And, authorities have not released the name of the man who was killed, as well as the identities of the two officers who shot him.

The incident prompted a massive law enforcement response. Along with the Fremont and East Bay Regional Parks District police departments, officers from the Hayward, Union City, Newark and Milpitas police departments arrived on scene, as did the California Highway Patrol.

The shooting comes a month after Fremont detectives shot and killed a 16-year-old pregnant girl in Hayward. Police have said that an autopsy showed that the girl, identified as Elena Mondragon of Antioch, was in her third trimester.

That March 14 incident began when Fremont police tried to stop a vehicle that Mondragon was in on suspicion of driving a stolen car and armed robbery. When the driver of that car rammed into the detectives' vehicle, they opened fire.

A month earlier, a Fremont officer near Argonaut Way and Mowry Avenue shot and killed 45-year-old Fremont resident Nana Adomako. The officer, identified as James Taylor, was responding to reports that a man attacked employees in a store. The two got involved in a physical struggle and the officer's dog mistakenly bit Taylor. After Adomako allegedly punched Taylor in the head, the officer fired three shots at close range.