California SWAT teams search for gunman

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- The search for an employee accused of killing three co-workers and injuring six others at a Northern California limestone quarry brought SWAT teams in armored vehicles to the normally quiet streets of Silicon Valley on Wednesday.

The hunt for Shareef Allman, 47, of San Jose dragged into the afternoon after authorities said he opened fire at a routine safety meeting around 4:15 a.m. and later wounded a woman in a failed carjacking.

Schools were on lockdown in Cupertino, home of Apple Inc., and in nearby communities as authorities went door to door with guns drawn and residents were warned to stay indoors.

Meanwhile, friends and neighbors expressed disbelief and sadness at the possibility the man they knew as an outgoing, engaged member of the community could have committed such horrific acts of violence.

Allman became upset and left the meeting then returned with a handgun and rifle and started shooting people, Santa Clara County sheriff's Lt. Rick Sung said. About 15 workers were at the meeting.

Sheriff Laurie Smith said two people were pronounced dead at Permanente Quarry in the foothills outside Cupertino, and a third person died later at a hospital.

Six others at the quarry were wounded and taken to hospitals, Smith said. Some remained in critical condition. The names of the victims have not been released.

Authorities located Allman's vehicle and have seized a shotgun, a handgun and two rifles believed to belong to the suspect, Smith said, adding that some of the weapons were found in the car.

"The challenges are the big geographical area," she said. "The challenges are that he's armed."

Around 7 a.m., authorities received a 911 call that a woman was shot in an attempted carjacking near Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Cupertino campus by a man matching Allman's description. The shooter fled on foot after using a weapon similar to a gun used in the quarry shooting, authorities said.

The carjacking victim, a Hewlett-Packard contract employee, was in fair condition at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, according to hospital spokeswoman Joy Alexiou. Another victim was treated and released from the hospital, while a third remained in fair condition, she said.

Allman was last seen in surveillance footage from a nearby gas station shortly after the shooting outside Hewlett-Packard, Smith said. In the video, he appeared to be armed, she said.