Police said Ted Lieu threatened tenants with a firearm before officers found him hiding in a shed several houses away.
SAN JOSE, CA — A 69-year-old San Jose landlord was fatally shot by three police officers after authorities say he fired at them from a shed Sunday night, ending a search that began after tenants reported being threatened and prevented from leaving a home on Locke Drive.
Ted Lieu was identified Tuesday as the man killed in the Oct. 11 confrontation. San Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph said the incident developed over several hours, beginning with a dispute involving Lieu, a tenant and a guest at a home in the 3200 block of Locke Drive. Police said no officers were injured in the shooting. The department’s homicide unit and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office are investigating the encounter.
Police were first called to the home shortly after 8 p.m. after a woman reported an altercation with her landlord, who she said was armed. Joseph said initial reports described Lieu as having a handgun in his pants pocket while repeatedly pushing a guest of the tenant. Officers interviewed the people involved and determined at that stage that Lieu had not brandished the firearm, police said. The reporting party did not want to pursue criminal charges, and officers left the property.
The situation changed about an hour later. At about 9:32 p.m., the same tenant called 911 and reported that Lieu was standing in a hallway with a firearm while threatening her and another roommate and preventing them from leaving, according to police. Authorities said officers who returned to the house determined that the allegations could involve assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and a possible kidnapping. Lieu had left before officers arrived.
Officers removed the residents from the house and began searching the surrounding neighborhood. Investigators learned that Lieu was believed to be hiding at another property a few houses away in the 3100 block of Locke Drive. Police said officers located him at about 11:13 p.m. inside a shed outside the residence. According to Joseph and the department’s preliminary account, Lieu produced a firearm and fired at least one round toward officers.
Three officers returned fire, striking Lieu at least once, police said. He was later found inside the shed and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators recovered a handgun near Lieu, authorities said. Police also reported finding additional firearms during the investigation, including a rifle at Lieu’s residence and another gun in a garbage can. Authorities have not publicly detailed how each weapon was obtained or whether every firearm was used during Sunday’s confrontation.
Joseph said investigators were also reviewing earlier contacts involving Lieu. The chief said Lieu had a history of disputes with neighbors and tenants in which firearms or erratic behavior had been reported. Police previously took a firearm from Lieu for safekeeping during an incident in which he was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, Joseph said. The chief also said Lieu had an active misdemeanor warrant stemming from an earlier alleged assault and battery involving the same tenants. Those previous allegations did not establish what occurred during Sunday’s shooting and remain separate from the ongoing investigation.
The three officers who fired at Lieu were not injured. Police said two have served with the San Jose Police Department for seven years and the third has eight years of service. All three had activated body-worn cameras during the incident, according to the department. Their names had not been publicly released in the reports available Tuesday. The shooting was the department’s third officer-involved shooting of 2026.
Residents along Locke Drive expressed shock after the shooting. Neighbor Lilia Gaspar told NBC Bay Area that the incident had left people on the street concerned and saddened. Police have not announced any injuries to the tenants or other civilians connected with the dispute.
The shooting remains under investigation by San Jose police and the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The department said the case is also subject to administrative review by SJPD Internal Affairs, the San Jose City Attorney’s Office and the Office of the Independent Police Auditor. Investigators have not announced a final finding on the officers’ use of force.
Author note: Last updated October 14, 2026.