Features

Woman shot and wounded; husband arrested after San Jose standoff

The Associated Press
Tuesday April 02, 2002

SAN JOSE — Police are investigating a bizarre family disturbance that ended after an 11-hour standoff involving a woman found lying shot in the head on the family’s front lawn. 

Police arrested her husband on charges of delaying a police investigation, but was unclear Sunday who shot the woman, said San Jose police spokesman Joseph Deras. 

The standoff started shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday, after police received a phone call from the 58-year-old husband saying his wife had shot herself. Officers arrived to find the woman lying in front of the house with a gunshot wound to her head. A weapon was nearby. 

Deras said police also found a firearm inside the house after the husband barricaded himself inside and refused to cooperate with police negotiators. 

About 30 officers surrounded the home during the standoff, but the neighborhood was not evacuated. 

“At one point, he actually called us here at the 911 center and demanded to speak with a female, which we were able to provide him with,” Deras said. “Then he wanted to speak to a captain. We had a number of captains on hand but none of them were female. His demands were kind of unusual and difficult to provide.” 

The 55-year-old woman was taken to San Jose Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition Sunday afternoon, said Leslie Kelsay, hospital assistant administrator. 

The couple’s son also was at the house during the incident. He told police his mother tried to kill herself. The woman, who was still coherent after the shooting, also told police she was trying to commit suicide. 

“We don’t know how accurate that is,” Deras said. “We are still looking at what happened. Did she shoot herself or did someone else shoot her?” 

Police have not released names of the man and woman involved.