Residents of Darlene Way Have Harrowing Day

Bay City News and staff reports — Residents of Darlene Way have spent more than 10 hours on edge Thursday wondering when it will be safe to venture out of their homes.

A with suspects in a burglary who reportedly fired shots at officers has left the area blocked off and locked down all day, with armored vehicles, police dogs and helicopters hovering.

Two buses from Union City Transit were sent to the area to evacuate residents, spokeswoman Rosanna Smith said. One bus was dispatched at 1:45 p.m. and another was sent about an hour later, she said.

Police also evacuated four or five elderly residents at about 5 p.m. from the  and took them to a nearby community center.

Donald Tran, 33, an accountant from Fremont, said he left work around noon and rushed to his parents' house on Darlene Way after reading about the incident online.

His parents, a couple in their late 50s, were at home with their infant grandchildren, Tran said. He received a call from his father who said that he found out about what was happening in the neighborhood only after going into his back yard and encountering one of the suspects.  

The man quickly jumped over a fence and fled when Tran's father asked the suspect what he was doing.

Tran said his parents had lived in the house for nearly 20 years and they have never experienced something like this.

"I feel kind of violated," Tran said. "Your house is supposed to be safe. I always felt like this neighborhood was safe, but this incident kind of changes things."    

Lawrence Hudson, who lives on Darlene Way, said that when he returned from walking his dog mid-morning, Union City police told him to stay indoors because shots had been fired at a nearby home.

Resident Lois Nugyen said at about 1 p.m. that police had surrounded a home three houses down from her and were pointing their guns at it.

She said she was at home with her husband late this morning when she saw a man run into her back yard.

"My husband saw him and opened the patio door and said, 'What are you doing in my back yard?'" Nguyen said. The man then jumped over a fence into her neighbor's yard and disappeared, she said. She described him as a tall young black man with a thin build wearing a white T-shirt.

Nguyen said police arrived in the neighborhood a short time later and shut down the street. She said she went to the front yard at one point to water her plants and police told her to go back indoors.

Khatera Sarwari, who lives on nearby Jean Drive, said she received
a phone call from Union City police telling her to stay indoors until police were able to detain a male suspect who was trespassing in people's back yards.