San Jose police on Tuesday identified 69-year-old Ted Lieu as the man who was fatally wounded by police gunfire after he shot at officers while hiding in a shed on a quiet street near Andrew Hill High School Sunday night.
In a late afternoon press release, police said the shootout ended a neighborhood manhunt that had begun nearly two hours earlier, and three hours after officers responded to an initial 8:13pm report of a “weapons disturbance” at a residence located in the 3200 block of Locke Drive.
A woman told police she had been in an argument with her landlord, who was carrying a handgun and also assaulted another person at the home.
When officers arrived at the residence, they said they interviewed the “involved parties…and … determined that the suspect did not brandish the firearm.” Police said that the woman who called in the initial report declined to pursue criminal charges at the time.
Approximately an hour later, after officers had left the scene, the same woman called 9-1-1 again, at 9pm, and reported that the landlord brandished a firearm at her and a second roommate, while holding them against their will inside the residence.
Police said officers immediately returned to the residence, but the landlord, identified as Ted Lieu, had fled.
Officers determined that an assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and a possible kidnapping had occurred. They safely removed the victims from the residence and began securing the surrounding area and searching for Lieu.
During their investigation, officers learned that Lieu was hiding at a residence located in the 3100 block of Locke Drive, just a few houses down from the initial incident.
Police reported that at approximately 11:13pm as officers were searching for the suspect, they discovered he was hiding in a shed located outside the residence.
In the press release, police reported that: “During the encounter, based on the preliminary investigation, the suspect produced a firearm and fired at least once towards officers. Three officers returned fire and later determined that Lieu had at least one gunshot wound.
Lieu was pronounced dead at the scene. During the investigation, a firearm was recovered by police. Police also recovered an assault rifle from the suspect's residence.
No San José Police Department Officers were injured in the incident, according to the press release. All the involved officers had their body cameras activated during the incident.
The officers were not identified, but police said the first involved officer has seven years of experience as a San Jose police officer, the second involved officer has seven years of experience and the third involved officer has eight years of experience.
The shooting is being investigated by the Department’s Homicide Unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The incident is also being reviewed administratively by Internal Affairs, the City Attorney’s Office, and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sergeant Barragan, Sergeant Yee and/or Detective Harrington of the Homicide Unit at 408-277-5283.
