In our minds, Christmas should be a peaceful day in which families gather around the tree, or at least around the television to watch burning yuletide logs.
But no one told purveyors of bad news that Christmas 2023 was an off day.
The action started around 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, when a drunk driver plowed his blue Toyota Camry into the backyard of a Los Altos home on San Antonio Road near Sylvian Way. Then just hours later, a three-alarm fire broke out at a commercial building near the intersection of San Antonio and El Camino. The fire took hours to extinguish. Then later that night, around 8:30 p.m., a 6-year-old boy was shot and injured in the 900 block of Clark Avenue in Mountain View. An adult man also was injured in the incident. Both injuries were non-life-threatening. As of last week, the suspect or suspects remained at large.
“Our initial investigation revealed that at least one person allegedly shot into the home before running away from the area,” police said in a statement.
In the Dec. 24 incident, the alleged drunk driver, identified as Ismael Leal Romero, 59, of Mountain View, was taken to Stanford Medical Center with injuries. He was charged with drunk driving, possession of a loaded handgun and driving with a suspended license. No one else was hurt.
Initial reports about the fire at 4600 El Camino Real in Los Altos came in at 4:50 a.m. on Christmas day. Firefighters found smoke billowing from the first floor of the two-story, 20,550-square-foot commercial building, home to a dozen or more businesses.
Subsequent alarms sounded at 5:10 a.m. and 5:22 a.m., bringing on more reinforcements. Approximately 60 first responders, including units from Mountain View, Palo Alto and Santa Clara County, spent more than eight hours putting out the fire.
The blaze, which caused the second floor to cave in, resulted in the building’s total destruction. The building’s remains are scheduled for demolition as soon as this week, as the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“Thankfully, there were no injuries to civilians or first responders,” according to Santa Clara County Fire Department personnel.
The investigation also continues in the wake of the Christmas day shooting in Mountain View. “At this time, the motive for the shooting is unclear,” police said.
Anyone with any information on this incident, or on the identity of the shooter or shooters, can contact detective Josh Gould at [email protected]. An anonymous tip line has also been set up at (650) 903-6618.
Los Altos Police Sgt. Scott Spillman acknowledged officers had their hands full on the busy Christmas day.
“That’s why we have to work 24/7, 365 days a year,” he said. “Somebody always has to be here. You never know when emergencies are going to go down and things like that are going to happen.
