A convicted felon who was recently released from jail due to overcrowding was shot and killed by police in Concord on Wednesday night after leading authorities on a chase and ramming a patrol car.
The chase began about 8:40 p.m. at Alves Lane and Willow Pass Road in Bay Point when a Contra Costa County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop 26-year-old Bay Point resident Jose Avalos for driving a car that was believed to be stolen, which was later confirmed to be the case, according to police.
After fleeing the stop, Avalos led police onto the freeway where the chase was temporarily halted in Concord after he began driving the wrong way on Highway 242. At that point sheriff’s deputies asked Concord police for assistance in apprehending the suspect.
Avalos eventually pulled off the freeway and into the parking lot at the Sunvalley Mall on Concord Boulevard where he abandoned the vehicle. He then ran to the nearby Willows Shopping Center, located across Interstate 680.
Police said Avalos then unsuccessfully tried to carjack two vehicles in the shopping center parking before succeeding on his third attempt.
Concord police managed to corner Avalos in the parking lot between the Cost Plus and REI stores. Avalos then rammed a patrol car, and two officers responded by firing several shots, police said.
Officers immediately summoned emergency medical aid, but the suspect died from his injuries on the scene.
Police said they later located a gun near the stolen car Avalos abandoned in the Sunvalley Mall parking lot. Avalos was on post release supervision for a previous arrest of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The two officers involved in the shooting, one with eight years of law enforcement experience and the other with three, have both been placed on routine administrative leave pending the results of an investigation into the shooting, according to police.
This shooting marks the second fatal shooting involving Concord police this year. In May, a Concord officer shot and killed a suicidal woman after she pointed a gun at police in the 2700 block of Pacheco Street.
