SAN JOSE, Calif. — Two people were killed Sunday night in a stabbing at Grace Baptist Church, downtown near the San Jose State University campus.
Other people were wounded in the attack.
A tweet from the San Jose Police Department thanked San Jose firefighters and "our first responding Officers who rendered aid to victims in the middle of a chaotic scene and undoubtedly saved lives."
There was not a service at the church when the stabbing occurred, police said. "Unhoused individuals were brought into the church to get them out of the cold," police said in a tweet.
Mayor Sam Liccardo tweeted that an arrest had been made but he later deleted the tweet, and police tweeted that an arrest was not confirmed.
Police said Monday morning that 10th and 11th streets remained closed between San Fernando and San Antonio streets.
The church, 484 E. San Fernando, is at the corner of 10th Street, across from the San Jose State University campus.
The first police announcement of the attack was a social media post shortly after 8:45 p.m. Sunday.
Police called the area near the church an active scene. They later said that multiple victims were hurt, with some suffering from life-threatening injuries.
Shortly before 10 p.m., Liccardo posted to social media, saying: "Our hearts go out to the families of the two community members who have succumbed to stabbing wounds in the attack at Grace Baptist Church downtown tonight."
"SJPD has arrested the suspect," Liccardo said. "Others are seriously wounded, & we keep them in our prayers."
But Liccardo deleted that tweet, following with another tweet referring to an imminent police statement on the investigation and an arrest.
Police confirmed the deaths moments after but did not confirm an arrest, adding: "For clarification, no church services were being conducted at the time of the stabbing. Unhoused individuals were brought into the church to get them out of the cold."
Sunday night's homicides were the city's 41st and 42nd of the year and the fifth and sixth this month, compared with 34 recorded in San Jose in all of 2019. The city has also surpassed the 10-year average of 37 and is roughly on pace to record 44 homicides. That would put 2020 in the league of 46 slayings in 2012 and 47 in 2016, which were the city's highest totals in about 30 years.
According to this news organization's reporting, while most categories of crimes in the city have trended downward due in large part to COVID-19 restrictions and safety advisories, homicides have not been affected, and are actually outpacing the past few years.
