Gunman Shot by Police After 5-Hour Standoff

A gunman who fired a high-powered rifle at least 40 times inside an apartment was shot Tuesday after a nearly five-hour standoff with police.

The alleged gunman, identified as Gerome Rogers, 24, of East Palo Alto, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to police. He underwent surgery at San Jose Hospital and was reported in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Police shot Rogers about 9 a.m. as he tried to flee the Skyway Apartment complex while firing at police, Officer Louis Quezada said. Rogers was armed with a handgun and an assault rifle, Quezada said.

Another man, identified as Darrin L. Mays-Hoskins, 24, of Menlo Park, also was wounded. Police said Mays-Hoskins was shot in the foot during the standoff, but do not know how the shooting occurred.

Mays-Hoskins was flushed out of the apartment with tear gas about 10 a.m. Police do not know what role, if any, he played in the incident.

Mays-Hoskins also was taken to San Jose Hospital; his condition was not available.

Police arrived at the south San Jose complex about 4:30 a.m. and evacuated about 200 units after hearing shots fired, Quezada said.

Sgt. Bob Beams said Dorothy Cozine, who identified herself as Rogers’ mother, had called police and said her son was acting strangely. Cozine told police on the scene that her son was armed, Beams said.

Residents on both sides of the apartment said bullets pierced their walls, injuring at least one person.

The injured man, David Smalley, said he and his mother barricaded themselves in their kitchen after hearing gunfire.

“We’re hiding behind the refrigerator because we’re right next door to him. We’re trying to get as many walls between us as we can,” Smalley said.

At least eight bullets came through the walls of Smalley’s apartment, he said. One of them nicked him in the arm.

Police were unsure what prompted the shooting. But Smalley’s roommate, Brent Holderman, said he was awakened by a man and woman arguing.

Before the incident, the man who lived next door had been quiet, Holderman said.

“We never spoke to them. They kept to themselves,” he said.