Last Friday, November 5, a call came into the Milpitas Police Department (MPD) about a knife fight happening between 3 individuals at the Great Mall, near a restaurant.
Upon arrival, the police detained the 3 people, among whom was a 15-year-old male carrying a sizable concealed blade.
That happened at 5:22pm.
Twelve minutes later, at 5:34, a new call came into 911. The reason: shots were allegedly being fired at the Great Mall, in Burlington Coat Factory. Police personnel did not know if the shots-fired call was related to the knife-fight call.
The second call set off a wave of activity, with an array of officials from MPD, San Jose Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Milpitas Fire Department, and Rural Metro Ambulance pouring onto Great Mall property to begin or assist in a search and evacuation process. In the meantime, many mall shoppers and staffers sheltered in place, awaiting the all-clear or safe escort from the premises by police.
Come 7:39, the search was over. Burlington Coat Factory was clean: no evidence of any shots fired was found there, nor elsewhere in the mall. Nor was any person found to be injured in either incident.
The 15-year-old with the knife was found to be on probation in Santa Clara County for past violations including robbery, auto theft, and possession of an illegal weapon. The other 2 detainees were ultimately released. Police booked the weapon carrier into juvenile hall. Charges: violation of probation warrant, possession of a controlled substance, possession of concealed dagger.
As for the shots-fired call, witnesses pointed to a 41-year-old male as having been involved. He was on California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation parole, stemming from a burglary conviction. Although police could not attribute any gunfire to this person, they did discover a controlled substance and narcotic paraphernalia on him. As a result, he was booked into jail.
