A man was killed and three other people were wounded early Friday when shots were fired inside a business near downtown San Jose, authorities said. Officers rushed to the 800 block of S. First St. around 3:43 a.m., found multiple victims and began life-saving aid as paramedics moved the injured to hospitals, police said.
The attack, coming the morning after Christmas, pushed fresh scrutiny on nightlife corridors close to the city’s core and launched a homicide probe with few public details. San Jose police said one male victim died after transport. Two other men and a woman were treated for gunshot wounds; at least some were initially listed as life-threatening but were expected to improve, according to early briefings. No arrests were announced by Monday and investigators had not released suspect information. Detectives are collecting video from inside the business and along South First, reviewing 911 recordings and canvassing for witnesses as they work to establish motive and identify who pulled the trigger.
Patrol units were dispatched after several callers reported gunfire and people running from the storefront just before 4 a.m. Officers arrived to a chaotic scene—shattered glass at the entrance, shell casings on the floor and a small crowd forming on the sidewalk. The mortally wounded man was found inside and pronounced dead at a hospital; his name will be released by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner after family notification. The other three victims were taken to separate facilities. Investigators taped off the block between cross streets and kept the business closed for much of the day while crime-scene technicians photographed trajectories, gathered casings and mapped entry and exit points used by customers and staff.
Police did not disclose the business name while evidence work continued. Detectives interviewed workers and patrons who remained on scene, asking about any argument or disturbance in the minutes before the shots. Officers requested surveillance footage from nearby storefronts, bars and traffic cameras that track vehicles entering the corridor from the freeway and neighborhood streets. Investigators also asked hospitals to notify them of any walk-in patients with gunshot wounds who might be tied to the case. A patrol sergeant said early leads suggested at least one shooter fled before officers arrived; it remained unknown if a vehicle was used or if the gunman ran through alleyways that connect to side streets.
The stretch of South First Street where the shooting occurred sits on the edge of downtown nightlife and mixed-use blocks that draw late-night foot traffic through the holidays. While San Jose’s homicide total has trended below historic highs, clusters of late-night shootings have periodically flared near bars and small venues. Police have emphasized camera coverage and quick-turn interviews in those areas, noting that minutes matter as witness accounts fade and off-site videos get overwritten. Friday’s gunfire added to year-end calls for visible patrols near closing times and for businesses to maintain interior cameras that capture customer movement as well as entrances.
Officials said the investigative checklist includes ballistics testing to determine whether multiple guns were fired and whether recovered casings match any weapons from prior incidents. Technicians took swabs from door handles, a bar counter and stair rails to preserve DNA and prints that could place specific people at key locations. Detectives will compare video time stamps with 911 logs to build a minute-by-minute timeline, then cross-check statements from patrons who reported an argument nearby. The medical examiner will document wound paths and confirm cause of death, findings that can indicate distance and direction of fire inside a confined space.
Residents in adjacent apartments described being jolted awake by sharp pops, followed by sirens and the thump of helicopter blades. A security guard working a nearby lot said he saw people sprint out two doors and scatter toward parked cars. “It was fast, just screaming and then engines starting,” he said. By sunrise, yellow tape still wrapped light poles as officers guided morning commuters around evidence markers dotting the sidewalk. A tow truck later hauled away a sedan that detectives flagged for processing; officers did not say whether it belonged to a victim, witness or potential suspect.
Police have not discussed a motive and did not indicate that the shooting was random. Detectives are checking whether the business had any prior calls for service this month and whether any recent disputes involved those present Friday. Investigators routinely seek phone records and social-media exchanges in cases with large groups inside a small space, which can reveal preexisting conflicts or after-the-fact coordination among witnesses. The department’s Homicide Unit will consolidate interviews taken through the weekend and circulate any suspect images to partner agencies if clean stills can be pulled from interior cameras.
Under department protocol, updates are typically released once next-of-kin notices and preliminary lab work are complete. If detectives identify a suspect, they can seek an arrest warrant from a judge and release a bulletin with a name, photo and vehicle description. Prosecutors in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office review filings for murder, attempted murder or assault with a firearm depending on the evidence. In multi-victim shootings, charges can reflect each injury and any enhancements tied to alleged great bodily injury or use of a specific weapon.
By Monday night, the block had reopened to traffic, though a small shrine of candles and flowers had appeared near the door where police focused their measurements. Workers from neighboring businesses scrubbed the sidewalk while detectives returned for a brief follow-up walk-through. “We’re cooperating with police and hoping everyone else who was here comes forward,” a nearby shop manager said. The business where the shooting occurred remained closed pending the completion of evidence collection and repairs to the entryway glass.
As of late Monday, no arrests had been announced. The three surviving victims were recovering at area hospitals, and the medical examiner was expected to release the deceased man’s name after notifying relatives. Police said the next update would follow once key witnesses are re-interviewed and additional video is secured this week.
Author note: Last updated December 30, 2025.