The State - News from Feb. 2, 1989
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San Jose Police Chief Joseph McNamara said that an officer killed in a downtown shooting incident was “the victim of the worst possible bad luck.” Officer Gordon Silva did not die of a direct gunshot, but rather from a shotgun pellet that ricocheted, the chief said. The incident began when transient Randy Dale Connors, 35, wrestled away Officer Gene Simpson’s .357 magnum revolver and shot him in the head. Silva came to Simpson’s aid and was killed in shotgun cross-fire from five other officers answering Simpson’s plea for help.
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