(KRON) — The Fremont Police Department released bodycam footage of a fatal police shooting on Friday. The shooting happened on April 13, 2023, and 19-year-old Newark resident Elmer Lopez-Castaneda was killed.
You can watch the video here. WARNING: The events in this video are graphic and viewer discretion is advised.
The incident began when police say they were notified about a vehicle that had been carjacked on February 14. The alleged carjacking happened on the 5700 block of Thornton Avenue in Newark. A teenage victim had just dropped their child off at school when the suspect approached them with a knife, police said. The suspect drove off in the vehicle.
On April 13, a license plate reader camera alerted the Newark and Fremont police departments about the vehicle. Newark officers located the car at Chase Suites Hotel, 39150 Cedar Boulevard, at 4:11 p.m.
The vehicle was unoccupied when police found it, but officers watched two men, including Lopez-Castaneda, enter it. Police conducted a “high-risk traffic stop” and told the men to put their hands up.
Following officers’ commands, Lopez-Castaneda got out of his car with his hands on top of his head. Officers noticed what looked like a gun in the suspect’s waistband, yelled, “GUN” and ordered him to drop to the ground.
