ARMED MAN FLEES POLICE AND POINTS A GUN AT A PASSING DRIVER DURING DRAMATIC HAYWARD PURSUIT

A police pursuit that began with reports of an armed disturbance in Hayward, California, ended in a chaotic confrontation on Eden Canyon Road on October 24, 2022.

The supplied image captures one of the most critical moments of the incident: an armed man had fled from his disabled Mercedes and reached a passing motorist while officers chased him on foot.

According to the Hayward Police Department, officers saw him POINT A HANDGUN AT THE DRIVER AND ATTEMPT TO OPEN HER VEHICLE DOOR. Moments later, an officer-involved shooting occurred.

1. POLICE RESPOND TO AN ARMED DISTURBANCE

 

 

 

At approximately 9:56 a.m., Hayward officers were dispatched to the 21000 block of Gary Drive.

Witnesses told police that an armed man had gone to his ex-girlfriend's residence and entered the home. Police said he became involved in an argument with his ex-girlfriend's mother before the people inside managed to lock him out and call 911.

While officers were responding, witnesses reported hearing numerous gunshots.

Police said the man then left the area in a gray Mercedes sedan.

KTVU reported that authorities described roughly a dozen shots being fired during this stage of the incident.

WHAT BEGAN AS A DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE HAD NOW BECOME AN ACTIVE SEARCH FOR AN ARMED MAN.

2. OFFICERS LOCATE THE GRAY MERCEDES

 

 

 

Police soon located the Mercedes traveling eastbound on Grove Avenue.

Officers activated their emergency lights and sirens and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

The driver did not pull over.

Because police considered him an ongoing threat to the community, officers initiated a pursuit through unincorporated Hayward and eventually onto eastbound Interstate 580.

Police said the driver displayed the handgun to pursuing officers during the chase.

At one stage, the Mercedes reached MORE THAN 85 MPH.

OFFICERS WERE NOW FOLLOWING A FLEEING DRIVER THEY BELIEVED WAS ARMED AND HAD ALREADY FIRED NUMEROUS ROUNDS.

3. THE PURSUIT MOVES ONTO EDEN CANYON ROAD

 

 

 

The Mercedes eventually exited the freeway and continued north on Eden Canyon Road.

This changed the environment dramatically.

Instead of remaining on a multilane freeway, the pursuit was now moving through a narrower roadway surrounded by dry vegetation and hills.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, law enforcement was concerned about the possibility of an ambush because the armed driver had displayed his weapon during the pursuit.

Police needed to prevent the Mercedes from continuing deeper into the area while also considering the danger to approaching motorists.

THE PURSUIT WAS HEADING TOWARD ITS FIRST MAJOR TURNING POINT.

4. POLICE USE A PIT MANEUVER TO STOP THE MERCEDES

 

 

 

Officers decided to use a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT).

The maneuver forced the Mercedes from the roadway and onto an embankment just north of Interstate 580.

Aerial imagery from the scene shows the silver Mercedes surrounded by police vehicles in the dry vegetation beside the road.

The vehicle pursuit appeared to be finished.

But during officers' attempt to prevent the Mercedes from escaping again, another dangerous moment occurred.

Hayward Police said AN OFFICER'S LEG BECAME PINNED BETWEEN THE MERCEDES AND A PATROL VEHICLE.

The officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The armed driver, meanwhile, was not staying inside the car.

5. THE DRIVER GETS OUT AND RUNS WITH THE GUN

 

 

 

Police said the man exited the disabled Mercedes and began running north on Eden Canyon Road.

HE STILL HAD THE HANDGUN IN HIS HAND.

Officers immediately pursued him on foot.

According to Hayward Police, officers repeatedly ordered the man to stop and drop the weapon.

The dynamics of the incident had now completely changed.

During the vehicle pursuit, the Mercedes separated the suspect from officers.

Now there was nothing between them.

The man was armed, on foot and moving along a public roadway.

At any moment, another vehicle could enter the scene.

That is exactly what happened.

6. AN UNINVOLVED DRIVER ENTERS THE SCENE

 

 

 

A woman was driving south on Eden Canyon Road while the foot pursuit was unfolding.

She was not part of the original domestic disturbance.

She was not part of the vehicle pursuit.

She had simply entered the road at the worst possible moment.

The fleeing man moved toward her vehicle.

Hayward Police said he stopped the passing motorist while officers continued chasing him.

The confrontation was suddenly no longer limited to police and the armed man.

AN UNINVOLVED CIVILIAN WAS NOW DIRECTLY BETWEEN AN ARMED FUGITIVE AND PURSUING OFFICERS.

7. THE MAN POINTS HIS HANDGUN AT THE DRIVER

 

 

 

This is the stage of the incident represented by the frame you supplied.

The man approaches the driver's side of the vehicle while the officer follows behind him.

According to the official Hayward Police account, officers saw the man POINT HIS HANDGUN AT THE DRIVER AND ATTEMPT TO OPEN HER CAR DOOR.

Police believed he was attempting to take control of the vehicle.

The department's initial release described the incident as appearing to be an attempted kidnapping and/or carjacking.

CBS similarly reported that the man attempted to carjack the woman at gunpoint after the vehicle pursuit and foot chase.

THE WOMAN HAD BECOME THE TARGET OF AN ARMED CARJACKING IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ACTIVE POLICE PURSUIT.

8. THE OFFICER FIRES AS THE DRIVER IS THREATENED

 

 

 

Police said officers intervened because of the immediate danger to the driver.

An officer opened fire.

The armed man was struck and subsequently taken into custody.

Importantly, the woman inside the vehicle WAS NOT PHYSICALLY INJURED during the confrontation.

Officers recovered a loaded handgun at the scene.

The shooting brought an end to a sequence that had moved from a residence to a vehicle pursuit, then to a PIT maneuver, a foot chase and finally an attempted armed carjacking.

THE ENTIRE FINAL CONFRONTATION UNFOLDED WITHIN ONLY SECONDS.

9. OFFICERS PROVIDE MEDICAL AID

 

 

 

After the shooting, officers secured the man and medical treatment was provided at the scene.

He was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Two officers also received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries associated with the incident, including the officer whose leg had been pinned between vehicles.

The roadway then became an investigation scene.

Police vehicles remained around the crashed Mercedes while investigators began reconstructing the events that had unfolded across several locations.

THE PURSUIT WAS FINISHED, BUT THE INVESTIGATION WAS ONLY BEGINNING.

10. BODYCAM REVEALS THE COMPLETE SEQUENCE

 

 

 

Hayward Police later released body-worn camera footage, security video and additional information about the October 24 incident as part of its critical-incident briefing.

The footage provides context that a single screenshot cannot.

The sequence began with reports of an armed disturbance.

Witnesses reported gunfire.

Police located the gray Mercedes.

The driver refused to stop.

THE PURSUIT REACHED MORE THAN 85 MPH.

Officers used a PIT maneuver.

An officer was injured.

The armed man fled on foot.

A passing woman unexpectedly encountered him.

Police said he pointed his handgun at her and attempted to enter her vehicle.

An officer then fired.

A loaded handgun was recovered, and the woman escaped without physical injury.

Because the shooting occurred in Alameda County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction, that agency became the lead investigative agency. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office also conducted a criminal investigation, while Hayward said an independent administrative investigation would examine whether officers complied with department policy.

THE IMAGE YOU PROVIDED CAPTURES THE MOST CRITICAL PART OF THE ENTIRE INCIDENT: AN ARMED FLEEING MAN REACHING AN UNINVOLVED MOTORIST WHILE POLICE WERE ONLY STEPS BEHIND HIM.

CONTINUE WATCHING

The vehicle pursuit was over, but the danger wasn't. The armed man ran down Eden Canyon Road and reached a passing driver as officers closed in behind him. Watch the complete footage at the link below to see the pursuit, foot chase and final confrontation unfold. 👇

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