San Jose State University police are investigating after a man and a woman were found dead inside a parked car at the sjsu parking garage at 350 S. 4th St. on Saturday afternoon. Officers were called just after 2 p.m., arrived at the scene and began medical aid before first responders pronounced both people dead.
Jermaine Thomas at 350 S. 4th St.
Captain Jermaine Thomas said officers found a male adult and an adult female unresponsive inside the vehicle. "Our officers arrived on scene, made contact, immediately started medical aid to the two subjects, you had a male adult and an adult female," Thomas said. Police later said the two were non-affiliates and were not associated with the campus or students.
Thomas also said, "The initial call came up that someone saw them in the vehicle earlier today, which then they saw them a few hours later and that's when we were notified," giving the clearest account so far of how the response began. Investigators are reviewing campus surveillance video as they look at the possibility of an overdose.
San Jose State community response
Campus police said there is no threat to the university community and no suspects are being sought. The garage is open to the public 24 hours a day and requires payment to park, and San Jose State said spring classes and graduation ceremonies had already wrapped up, leaving fewer students on campus Saturday.
That setting shaped the reaction from people on campus. Anthony Garcia said, "I feel better in the campus, versus when I walk out of the campus, the area is very sketchy, might be a lot of drugs around," and added, "I always look around my surroundings."
Rebekah Rardin on campus
Recent graduate Rebekah Rardin said, "I feel like that's pretty crazy, we do get police reports through our school emails about different kinds of crimes, but there's normally just graffiti stuff like that," and added, "So I feel like this is pretty intense." She said she usually felt safe when she was on campus at night, but still walked with a friend back to her car during evening classes.
Police have not released the cause of death and are still working through the garage video. The immediate next step for people around the campus is straightforward: the university says there is no threat to the community, while investigators continue to sort out whether the deaths inside the parked car were the result of an overdose.
