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Naked Suspect Shot By San Jose Police Armed With Caulking Gun

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A man who was shot by three police officers in West San Jose on Friday afternoon pointed a caulking gun during his confrontation with authorities, police said Monday.

The suspect was identified by as 53-year-old John Bradley Bowles.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia also identified the officers who shot Bowles as Todd Ahyo, William Wolfe and Erick Enderle, who have 24, 22 and 21 years of law enforcement experience, respectively.

Bowles, a San Jose resident who Garcia described as mentally unstable, remains in critical condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center.

All three officers are on paid administrative leave, which usually lasts about a week, Garcia said.

Around 1:30 p.m. Friday, a caller reported that Bowles was walking naked in the street, following a woman and child and running after other children in the area of Eva Court and Valerie Drive, Garcia said.

After officers arrived, Bowles got into a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck, backed out of Eva Court and hit a patrol vehicle and another parked car.

Bowles led about 10 police vehicles on a 4-mile pursuit, allegedly getting into several vehicle collisions in the process.

Eventually Bowles sped west down Stevens Creek Boulevard east of Lawrence Expressway before turning into the driveway of the Villa Shopping Center and coming to a stop, police said.

At the scene, the Ram appeared to have crashed head-on into the police SUV in the driveway.

After one officer fired at Bowles, he revved the engine of the Ram and pointed what turned out to be a caulking gun at the officers. Other officers fired at Bowles, striking him several times.

James Shaw, a driver for United Towing who said he witnessed the shooting from across the street, said he heard about 12 gunshots.

"It happened extremely quickly," Garcia said.

Bowles was taken to the hospital and was paper-booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, felony evasion, misdemeanor hit-and-run and annoying or molesting a child.

No officers were injured. The San Jose Police Department's homicide unit is conducting a joint criminal investigation with the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

The officers' body-worn camera footage is being reviewed as part of the investigation, police said.

The Police Department's internal affairs unit, the city attorney's office and the office of the independent police auditor are monitoring the case.

TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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