Union City shooting suspects found dead after wounding deputy

By Aja Seldon and Lisa Fernandez

UNION CITY, Calif. - UPDATE ON JAN. 25, 2024 AT 1:14 PM-

The investigation into the shooting of an Alameda County sheriff's deputy took a turn Thursday after a man and a woman apparently killed themselves while being served an eviction notice, authorities said. 

According to the Union City Police Department, the couple is believed to be responsible for shooting one of the two sheriff's deputies serving an eviction on Wednesday afternoon at a commercial building converted into some living space in the area of Dowe Avenue and Alvarado Niles Road. The building sits among a row of warehouses.

Authorities did not say who actually shot the deputy.

Police said none of the deputies fired their weapons.

"I can tell you that no gun, no gunshots were fired by any of the officers or deputies," Union City Police Sgt. John Jimenez. 

Both the man and the woman, whom police described as in some sort of relationship, died of self-inflicted gun wounds. Police would not elaborate or identify them immediately. 

One of the deputies was struck in the arm by the gunfire and survived. He underwent surgery and is expected to recover.

Officers had been searching for hours attempting to locate the suspects before a SWAT team located their bodies inside a building that appeared to have been converted into a living space, officials said at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

"It is believed that these two individuals are responsible for the shooting of the ACSO deputy," the police department said in a statement.

The sheriff's office also is not disclosing the identity of the wounded deputy.

Jimenez said the building at the center of the investigation was in an industrial area. He added that, "there was a converted area that was a living space." 

He did not confirm whether the suspects were living there.

The two deputies who responded to the commercial building are part of the sheriff's office's civil unit. 

They were wearing body-worn cameras, weapons and were in full uniform. 

Alameda County Sheriff's Department Capt. Tya Modeste said that the two deputies were carrying out an eviction of the building as part of an eviction process that started in November 2023.

A notice was posted on the building on Jan. 14 and the deputies were there in person on Wednesday to serve the notice. 

Modeste acknowledged that evictions are emotional. 

"As we can all understand, anyone being evicted from a property would be reasonably upset in some situations," she said. "You never know how things are going to unfold."

On Tuesday, in a separate instance, there was a standoff that eventually ended in Oakland when deputies served an eviction notice on 82nd and Outlook avenues. Details have not been provided on what happened in this case. 

Modeste said they are investigating the protocols the deputies employed while serving the eviction notice, as they are trained to follow specific steps when approaching a residence.

Modeste said she could not confirm who was the target of the eviction. 

But Jimenez added: "I think they were named as part of the eviction process."

Union City Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci noted that with all cities, rent moratoriums were evoked during the pandemic, but now those moratoriums have been lifted.

"Since then, however, that time period has elapsed," she said. "So we're back to what our position was pre-COVID. So that being said, this again is entirely under the purview of normal processes. When somebody is behind on their rent, it goes to the county for eviction and everything was done according to the book."

Alameda County data obtained by KTVU show that evictions went down during the spring of 2020 but are now on their way up. 

There were 929 unlawful detainers served in 2020, including several months when there were zero evictions, compared to 4,806 unlawful detainers served in 2023. 

The county served 57 unlawful detainers for commercial properties in 2020 and 488 in 2023. 

An unlawful detainer means that someone was notified they are living in a place illegally, but it doesn't necessarily mean that an actual eviction notice was served.

Alameda County sheriff deputy shot in Union City, deputes still looking for suspect

An Alameda County sheriff's deputy was shot in Union City on Wednesday afternoon.

The deputy was apparently wounded while serving an eviction notice.

Police are still searching for the gunman.

The extent of the deputy's injuries is unknown at this time. 

Authorities have asked people to avoid the area near Dowe Avenue and Alvarado Niles Road.

Dozens of police cars lined streets in the area. Officers were seen with their weapons drawn.

The deputy was in the process of evicting at least one person from a commercial building on Dowe Avenue.

Other responding deputies took the deputy from the scene. The injured deputy was then transported to a local trauma center by ambulance. While the injuries are critical, they are deemed non-life-threatening.

Police said the shooter is still in the area, and he is considered armed and dangerous. 

Other law enforcement agencies, including Union City, Newark and BART police rushed to the scene to help.