Cupertino Workplace Gunman Died Of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound
CUPERTINO (CBS SF) -- The gunman responsible for a deadly workplace shooting rampage at a Cupertino cement plant died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a coroner's determination made on Tuesday which contradicts the account given by authorities shortly after the man's death last week.
Sheriff's officials had initially said 49-year-old Shareef Allman was killed by deputies who opened fire after he threatened them with a handgun. But an autopsy report released by the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office found that while his body had other gunshot wounds, a self-inflicted wound was the fatal one.
The confrontation with deputies took place in a Sunnyvale neighborhood after a massive manhunt for Allman -- described as a disgruntled truck driver who allegedly opened fire during an employee meeting at the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant along Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino, killing three and wounding six others.
Authorities said Allman then shot and wounded tenth victim in a failed carjacking attempt in a nearby Hewlett-Packard company parking lot as he fled the cement plant last Thursday.
A 27-hour manhunt ensued after the shootings, during which Allman was found crouched behind a car parked on Lorne Way in Sunnyvale.
Three deputies had approached Allman and attempted to confront him, but when they saw that he had a handgun, all three deputies fired at him, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said.
(Copyright 2011 CBS San Francisco. All rights reserved.)
