Security officer credited with subduing suspect after fatal supermarket shooting
San Jose CA March 25 2020— Police say a man with anger issues and a previous mental-health hold, shot and killed a stranger after a brief encounter at an East San Jose supermarket Sunday, and was arrested thanks to a security officer who chased down and subdued him.
The motive behind the slaying at the Chavez Supermarket on McKee Road remains unclear, and San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia said there is no evidence showing that the suspect, 19-year-old San Jose resident Antonio Llabres, and the victim even knew each other.
“While we don’t have an exact motive for this brutal homicide,” Garcia said, “It was a combination of mental illness coupled with anger issues and supercharged with illegally possessing a handgun.”
Officers were called to the supermarket near McKee Road and Jackson Avenue at 3:53 p.m. Sunday for a report of a possible shooting and found a 33-year-old man lying on the ground, suffering from gunshot injuries.
He was rushed to the Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. His name was not publicly released pending his formal identification and notification of his next of kin.
In the aftermath of the shooting, a security officer ran after the suspect and brought him to the ground disarming and detaining him for arriving officers.
“He got him in custody while the suspect was still armed,” Garcia said. “The security officer showed amazing heroism.”
Llabres was arrested on suspicion of murder. The shooting marked San Jose’s eighth homicide of the year.
An initial investigation determined that Llabres entered the market, walked to the meat counter, and had at most a brief interaction with the victim before the shooting occurred. Garcia said a witness reported that a comment was said aloud about some physical marks on the suspect’s neck, and it quickly escalated.
Llabres had no prior arrest history but was the subject of a past involuntary mental-health hold, Garcia said. Under California law, that would bar him from being able to lawfully possess or have access to a firearm for five years.
The chief added that investigators have no information suggesting the current county and statewide stay-at-home order, to suppress the spread of coronavirus, factored into the shooting.
“There is no evidence it has to do with that. Six days of shelter in place, with the numerous exceptions to it, should not make one homicidal,” Garcia said. “This was a brutal homicide that could have occurred last March.”
Anyone with information about the shooting can call San Jose police Detective Sgt. Anthony Kilmer or Detective Ted Reckas at 408-277-5283, or leave a tip with Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at 408-947-7867 or at svcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.
