5 Slain Over Weekend in One of FBI’s ‘Safest Cities’

Five people were shot or stabbed to death over the Thanksgiving weekend in San Jose, a city noted by the FBI for its low crime rate.

Police said the first to die were Jeff Souza, 44, and his 49-year-old wife, Beatrice Souza, whose bodies were found in their home Friday afternoon by her son, John Villasenor.

“It was either a murder-suicide or a double suicide,” officer Gina Tepoorten, a spokeswoman for the San Jose Police Department, said Monday. “They were both shot.”

Tepoorten said the next victim, a 25-year-old man, was killed in front of his home about 11:40 p.m. Saturday.

“He was standing there with his friends when he was shot,” Tepoorten said. “The shooter may have been in a passing car.”

Around 1:15 a.m. Sunday, a 41-year-old man was stabbed to death during a fight at Zoe’s Nightclub in downtown San Jose.

“We don’t know yet whether he was part of the fight or just there,” Tepoorten said.

About 3:30 a.m. Sunday, a 17-year-old boy was shot to death at a party.

“A fight broke out,” Tepoorten said. “He was leaving when shots were fired.”

The names of the last three victims haven’t been released, and no suspects in the killings have been identified, police said.

“All these killings in one weekend, that’s very unusual for us,” Tepoorten said.

The FBI said in a 2002 report that San Jose, which has about 1 million residents, was the safest city in the nation with a population of more than 250,000.

Following San Jose on the list were Denver; Boston; Austin, Texas; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle.