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Residents on N. Taafe Street—a quiet neighborhood tucked next to the Caltrain tracks, below the Mathilda overpass—woke up the morning of June 19 to police tape, squad cars and drawn weapons, a far cry from their usual view of passing commuter trains and transport planes en route to Moffett Field.
At 7:48 a.m., 23-year old Heriberto Avila of Menlo Park had been shot in the leg at 105 Taafe, possibly by another person who left the scene shortly after. Officers responded, alerting people in the surrounding homes to the situation and entering the house on the end of the street with rifles drawn and ballistics helmets on, which made some residents believe the Special Weapons and Tactics team had been called.
Paul Lopez, 64, said a friend woke him that morning, telling him someone was lying injured outside of the Taafe house, which is across the from the house Lopez has lived in since 1966. But by the time he got out of his house, the man was no longer in the street. By then his street was full of Sunnyvale public safety officers.
Lopez said the excitement was uncharacteristic of the street, normally filled with children riding bikes and neighbors waving "hello" to one another. Although he had only known the people in 105 Taafe for a few months, he said they were always friendly, and that they enjoyed the homegrown zucchini he gave them occasionally.
He had never seen any problems at the house, but he did tell officers about increased traffic around the house. According to Lopez, a number of small cars and pickup trucks were often seen speeding down the street and stopping outside the house briefly before speeding away.
Another resident of the street said
officers blocked off the street and were standing outside various houses, keeping residents calm and watching as officers entered 105 Taafe St. looking for possible shooting suspects. The resident said officers handled the situation well, not letting people panic or interfere, even after a crowd of almost 40 onlookers gathered.
Special Operations Captain Byron Pipkin said that a few houses—especially those adjacent to the house where the incident occurred—had to be evacuated until officers knew more about what was going on.
By that evening, officers left the scene and all that remained was some yellow caution tape. Pipkin said Avila had been treated for the wound to his leg but did not need advanced medical attention. At press time, Pipkin said investigators believed they had found the primary suspect and were trying to obtain an arrest warrant.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety's Investigation unit at 408.730.7120.
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