A man is accused of opening fire with a flare gun over the San Mateo Police Department last month and at a police car responding to an emergency on Tuesday, police said.
On Thursday, Jan. 27, an individual sent an email to multiple County departments containing a video (video here) of an unknown suspect discharging a flare gun over a building that was determined to be the San Mateo Police Department. Investigators learned that the email address sending the video was associated with a San Mateo resident named Yasuhito Oshima, 44.
Then about 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, a police officer responding to a call for service heard and saw a bright red burning object speed by his vehicle’s windshield in the area of S. Delaware Street near Cypress Avenue, police said. The object landed in the yard of a residents on S. Delaware Street and continued to burn.
The officer exited his patrol vehicle to investigate and while he didn’t locate anyone in the immediate area, he walked southbound and saw Oshima sitting at a bus stop with a flare gun lying on the ground near his feet, police said. When Oshima noticed the officer, he reportedly grabbed the flare fun and placed it in his pocket. Oshima was arrested without incident. He was booked into County Jail for discharging a firearm with gross negligence, shooting into an occupied vehicle and assault on a peace officer with a firearm.
“Officers determined Oshima specifically waited for an officer to drive nearby him, so he could shoot at an officer,” police said.
SMPD served a search warrant at Oshima’s residence and found a taser, taser cartridges, a mace pepper gun, mace pepper gun cartridges, and an empty flare cartridge, which were collected as evidence.
The investigation remains open and active, police said.
