On September 7, 2024, at approximately 9:24 p.m., San Jose Police Officers responded to multiple 911 calls of a male, later identified as Roberto Rivera, discharging a firearm, outside of a restaurant in the 4200 block of Center Road. Frantic callers reported what was initially thought to be an active shooter incident, with the male shooting up in the air randomly, also reporting that someone had been shot.
The suspect, 50-year-old Roberto Rivera, had been randomly shooting into the ceiling inside of a restaurant and after exiting the restaurant, confronted and shot an adult male in the parking lot. When officers arrived on scene, at approximately 9:33 p.m., they located Rivera still standing in front of the restaurant, armed with a stolen .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, raised above his head.
The officers attempted to deescalate the situation, giving Rivera repeated commands to drop his weapon. Rivera did not comply. Rivera yelled “Shoot Me”, one officer responded “No We Don’t Want to Shoot You”. Despite the officer’s attempts to deescalate, Rivera then pointed his gun at officers, resulting in 4 officers discharging their weapons and striking Rivera. Rivera fell to the ground and a police K-9 was used to assist in taking him into custody. Rivera was taken into custody at approximately 9:37 p.m.. Responding officers immediately provided medical aid and summoned medical personnel to the scene. Rivera was transported to a local Hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he was pronounced deceased.
The subsequent investigation revealed the following: After Rivera fired shots into the ceiling of the restaurant, he confronted a person in the parking lot standing near a vehicle. Rivera yelled at the adult male who was standing next to a vehicle, then fired through the vehicle’s open window, striking the victim in the neck. That victim was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries before police arrived. This attack was later determined to be completely unprovoked.
The investigation also revealed that Rivera had been drinking heavily and was under the influence of illegal narcotics. Following the incident detectives learned that Rivera was involved in a separate confrontation near his residence a short distance from the restaurant earlier that evening. Rivera confronted someone in a vehicle and discharged three rounds from a firearm into the air. That victim fled the scene and never reported the incident to police.