By Sandra Gonzales
Contra Costa Times
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — A recently laid off high-tech employee opened fire Friday afternoon inside the Santa Clara office where he used to work, police said, killing the CEO and two others and sparking a massive manhunt that spread throughout the South Bay.
Santa Clara police identified Jing Hua Wu, 47, of Mountain View as the gunman who shot to death two men and one woman with a handgun before driving off in a silver SUV, thought to be a rented Mercury Mountaineer.
Wu remained at large late Friday, and police warned that he should be considered armed and “extremely dangerous.”
Friday’s violent scene erupted just before 4 p.m. when police say Wu arrived at SiPort, a small semiconductor firm at 3255-7 Scott Blvd., and began shooting. Wu apparently had been laid off either Thursday or Friday morning, Santa Clara police Lt. Mike Sellers said.
When police arrived, the suspect already had escaped and was initially thought to be on his way to Mountain View, where police remained outside his home into the night. Other reports indicated that he may have been headed to an airport.
Police said the dead included Chief Executive Officer Sid Agrawal and Brian Pugh, the vice president of operations. The identity of the third victim had not been released late Friday, pending notification of relatives.
SiPort is a relatively small firm that specializes in developing digital radio semiconductors. It raised at least $20 million in venture capital last year.
Park Square, the complex that includes SiPort’s offices, remained on lockdown Friday as more than two dozen police officers cordoned off buildings at the sprawling facility. Workers, meanwhile, huddled inside their offices as police, with guns drawn, cased the area.
Throughout the night, officers stopped and questioned employees in their vehicles as they left the complex.
Hours after the shootings, workers in neighboring businesses were still shaken.
“I was on the computer and a co-worker was going home, and we heard this commotion,” said Linh Nguyen, a mechanical engineer who works next door at Excel Precision. “People were running inside our building, strangers, I didn’t know who they were. They were very upset, they looked disturbed and then we heard that three people had been shot.”
When Nguyen looked outside, he saw armed officers. So he and others locked their doors and waited.
“It’s very unreal to me,” said Nguyen, who added he did not know anyone who worked at SiPort. “With all these people being laid off, I mean, I know people are upset, but it’s hard to imagine that anyone would do this.”
Friday’s deaths pushed to five this year’s homicide tally in a city not accustomed to such spasms of violence.
“It’s certainly a tragedy any time someone feels like this is an action they have to take,” Santa Clara police Chief Stephen Lodge said. “These are truly innocent people whose lives were taken. It’s just not right.”
Wu is described as 5-foot-7 and weighing 170 pounds, with black eyes and black hair.
Anyone who encounters Wu is urged to keep their distance and to call Santa Clara police at 408-615-4700. If Wu is in another city, witnesses should call 911 to reach that city’s police department.
Copyright 2008 Contra Costa Newspapers