Fremont police fatally shoots carjacking suspect when he pulled out a replica of a Beretta M9 pistol

The Fremont Police Department released bodycam footage of a fatal police shooting on Friday. The shooting happened on April 13, 2023, and 19-year-old Newark resident Elmer Lopez-Castaneda was killed.

The incident began when police say they were notified about a vehicle that had been carjacked on February 14. The alleged carjacking happened on the 5700 block of Thornton Avenue in Newark. A teenage victim had just dropped their child off at school when the suspect approached them with a knife, police said. The suspect drove off in the vehicle.

On April 13, a license plate reader camera alerted the Newark and Fremont police departments about the vehicle. Newark officers located the car at Chase Suites Hotel, 39150 Cedar Boulevard, at 4:11 p.m.

The vehicle was unoccupied when police found it, but officers watched two men, including Lopez-Castaneda, enter it. Police conducted a “high-risk traffic stop” and told the men to put their hands up.

Following officers’ commands, Lopez-Castaneda got out of his car with his hands on top of his head. Officers noticed what looked like a gun in the suspect’s waistband, yelled, “GUN” and ordered him to drop to the ground.

With his back to the officers, Lopez-Castaneda reached for his waistband and the officers fired.

The weapon in Lopez-Castaneda’s waistband was later discovered to be a full metal replica of a Beretta M9 pistol. The gun fell onto the car after the suspect was shot and slid onto the ground.

Officers provided medical care to Lopez-Castaneda after he was shot, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The other man in the car was not struck by gunfire.