SAN JOSE ? An East San Jose restaurant shooting that killed two people and wounded four was followed a few hours later by a deadly stabbing across the city in separate overnight attacks, according to police.
The shooting was reported about 11:40 p.m. Friday at Nuevo Vallarta on South Capitol Avenue just south of Alum Rock Avenue. San Jose police reported that one man died at the scene, while a second victim was taken to a local hospital where he died from his wounds. Three other men were wounded but were expected to survive. A sixth victim got to an emergency room on his own with an injury that wasn?t considered life-threatening.
The shooting didn?t surprise Arthur Perez, 60, who has lived in the neighborhood in Alum Rock for four decades. He called the restaurant, in an industrial cluster of businesses, a ?nuisance,? saying it was ?just a matter of time? until something like this happened.
Every Friday and Saturday night they have parties and loud music,? Perez said. ?Sometimes I hear gunshots ? but the cops haven?t come.?
He said he hoped this would spur the city to crack down on the restaurant, where he said parties sometimes go late into the night. A call and message to Nuevo Vallarta were not returned Saturday morning.
That concern was echoed by Sergio Lopez, owner of the Mariscos Xalos restaurant about a block away on South Capitol Avenue. He said in the two and a half months that he?s been open, after delaying a planned February opening, customers have come in and asked him to keep his restaurant family-friendly, comparing it to other nearby establishments that have taken on more of a party atmosphere.
?If you go over there on weekend nights around 9 or 10 o?clock, see what it looks like,? Lopez said. ?No one?s wearing (masks); everyone?s drinking, dancing, hugging.?
Then at 3:41 a.m. Saturday, officers were called to a residential neighborhood near Eppling Lane and Delridge Drive, off Coyote Road, after a stabbing was reported. They arrived to find a man suffering from serious injuries, and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
There was still a significant police presence in the quiet, suburban neighborhood in southern San Jose on Saturday morning. Few residents were out walking among the green lawns and houses, but officers had cordoned off several blocks of Deldridge Drive from Coyote Road to Eppling Lane, as well as Eppling Lane between Fullerton Court and Fontanelle Drive.
San Jose police currently have no suspects for the shootings, and the motive is being investigated, according to a news release. There was still a significant police presence at the strip mall Saturday morning.
There are likewise no suspects and the motive for that fatal stabbing remains under investigation.
The victims of the unrelated killings were not immediately named by authorities pending their formal identification and notification of their next of kin by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner?s Office.
Police did not release additional information about the motives or circumstances behind the attacks, which marked the city?s 34th, 35th and 36th homicides of the year. There were 29 homicides recorded at the same point in 2019.
Check back later for updates to this story.
Karl Mondon contributed to this report.