Suspect charged in San Leandro church shooting 
This afternoon San Leandro Police investigators presented their case to Alameda County District Attorney's office regarding the man who opened fire with a handgun towards the St. Felicitas Church statue.
The case against 34-year old Eric Mullen of San Leandro included charges of vandalism of religious property, discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, felon in possession of a firearm, carry a concealed firearm, resisting arrest, and other special enhancement charges.
On Saturday afternoon, June 4th, 2017, residents in the area of St. Felicitas Church located at 1650 Manor Blvd. called 9-1-1 to report gunshots heard in the area. One resident reported that he saw smoke and saw a subject leaving the area of the church.
Officers arrived in the area and located Mullen walking who matched the description given by witnesses of the subject seen leaving the church. Officers attempted contact Mullen to further investigate but met with resistance as he refused to comply with the officers’ orders.
Officers, who were in full police uniform physically attempted to detain Mullen. Mullen continued to resist and made attempts to reach towards his waistband where a gun was concealed. Officers were able to safely detain Mullen and retrieved the loaded firearm from his possession.
During the investigation, officers located evidence of a shooting on the church property that was directed towards the St. Felicitas concrete statue. Approximately seven rounds were discharged at the statue, and at least two rounds had ricocheted into the church building. There were no congregants or students at the church at the time of the shooting.
The motive, in this case, is unknown and although Mullen was arrested and investigated for committing a possible hate crime, we were unable to obtain enough evidence to substantiate such charges.
“We take these types of crimes very serious,” said Lt. Isaac Benabou. “We will go to great lengths to determine the motive and to ensure that crimes such as these aren't persuaded due to any groups’ belief.
Mullen was arraigned today and his next court date is set for Thursday, June 15th at the Hayward Hall of Justice.
MEDIA UPDATES WILL BE MADE AS INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE
Please contact the San Leandro Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division with any information regarding this case or any other case at (510) 577-3230.
Information may also be submitted anonymously by:
- Phone: Anonymous Crime Tips at (510) 577-3278
- Text Message: Text “TipSLPolice” to 888777
For crime prevention tips, please visit the Police Department’s website at http://www.sanleandro.org/depts/pd or contact our Crime Prevention Unit at 510-577-3228.
DATE / TIME OF RELEASE: 06/13/17 6:00pm
INCIDENTS: Church shooting
PRESS RELEASE OFFICER: Lt. Isaac Benabou
TELEPHONE: (510) 577-3272
EMAIL: [email protected]
DATE / TIME OF INCIDENT: 06/10/17 2:00pm
ARREST LOCATION(S):
INVESTIGATING DETECTIVE(S): CID
SUSPECT(S): Mullen, Eric
Address/Location
San Leandro Police Department
901 E 14th St
San Leandro, CA 94577
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 510-577-2740
TEXT-A-TIP - Text TIP SLPOLICE followed by your message, to 888777
