Watch: Vallejo Police Officer Dives Into Cruiser as Rifle-Armed Carjacking Suspect Opens Fire

Vallejo police used a public town hall meeting to show body and dashcam footage from a shootout in which investigators say a rifle-armed carjacking suspect opened fire on an officer before being fatally shot.

What to Know

  • Vallejo police released additional body camera, dash camera and 911 audio during a town hall meeting about the July 20 fatal shooting of Rommel Delfin Querol, the department's first fatal officer-involved shooting since 2020.
  • Police said officers located a Honda Accord stolen in an armed carjacking, and Officer Himanshu Saini came under rifle fire after initiating a stop on a dead-end street before Sgt. Matthew Komoda arrived and joined the gunfight.
  • Investigators said Querol, who police said was armed with an AR-15-style rifle and on parole at the time, was fatally shot after allegedly firing at officers; multiple investigations and policy reviews remain ongoing.

"When this incident occurred, the entire department mobilized," Ta told the crowd as the town hall began. "I personally responded, along with the deputy chief, both captains, our public information officer, our internal affairs commander, our entire detective division and police chaplains." Ta met with the family twice before Monday's event.

Members of the community, including Kris Kelley, whose brother Mario Romero was fatally shot in a Vallejo police shooting in 2012, have criticized this aspect of the department's handling of such shootings, among other aspects.

Knight gave an overview and timeline of events. He noted that the case is still under investigation, as did Ta. "It would be inappropriate for us to share details beyond those that have already been confirmed and released," Knight said.

The deputy police chief identified the two officers involved in the incident as Officer Himanshu Saini and Sgt. Matthew Komoda. The latter has been named in a practice in which officers bent the tips of their badges to mark shootings, though a subsequent report described him as a "victim" of the practice.

Knight shared details of the incident on Monday, July 20. "At approximately 12:19 p.m., the Vallejo Police Department responded to the 400 block of Ryder Street for an armed carjacking," Knight said. "The victim was robbed of his vehicle and personal belongings by a suspect armed with an assault rifle."

The victim's vehicle was a 2011 Honda Accord. The suspect fled in the vehicle and was last seen going northbound on Sonoma Boulevard, Knight said.

The vehicle was entered into the department's stolen vehicle system and vehicle information was placed into the Flock license plate reader software, Knight said. About 56 minutes later, the Flock system alerted officers that the victim's vehicle was in north Vallejo, according to Knight.

Officer Saini saw the Honda on Broadway Street near Mahogany Drive with two occupants inside around 1:15 p.m. He radioed for backup and followed the Honda as it turned onto Mahogany Drive, which is a dead-end street.

The Honda's driver stopped in the roadway as he neared the dead end. Saini activated his emergency lights and started to get out of his patrol car. A bystander looked into the Honda, then ran away.

Officer Saini started to give verbal commands to the vehicle's occupants, Knight said.

"The driver produced a high-powered rifle from the vehicle. Officer Saini dove into his patrol vehicle, and an officer-involved shooting occurred," Knight said.

Komoda arrived on the scene as the backup officer while shots were actively being fired, Knight said. He got out of his police vehicle and positioned himself on the passenger side of Saini's vehicle "while the driver was shooting his rifle at Saini and his patrol vehicle," the deputy chief said.

"Sgt. Komoda discharged his firearm at the driver and requested emergency assistance on the police radio," Knight said.

After a brief pause in the gunfire, the Honda drove forward, hitting an unoccupied vehicle and the fence. "After the suspect vehicle came to rest, both Officer Saini and Sgt. Komoda again engaged the armed suspect and discharged their firearms at the driver multiple times, fatally wounding him," Knight said.

Multiple officers arrived at the scene, and the passenger surrendered and was taken into custody, according to the deputy chief.

Officers could not immediately get to Querol to render aid because the scene was unsecured and the Honda was wedged between an unoccupied car and the fence, according to Knight. After several minutes, the suspect was removed from the vehicle, and officers began first aid until the paramedics arrived. However, the paramedics pronounced Querol dead at the scene.

Querol's firearm was a .223 caliber AR-15 style rifle, Knight said. The deputy chief said Querol was on parole at the time of the incident.

Knight said Querol had a criminal history; the deputy chief listed several convictions, including one in 2011. Querol "was arrested and charged with murder for a case that occurred in the City of Vallejo. He was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter with the use of a firearm and sentenced to prison," Knight said.

Both officers were placed on administrative leave after the incident. Neither was injured. The Solano County Major Crimes Task Force is conducting a criminal investigation. The City of Vallejo has retained an independent investigator, and a Vallejo PD critical incident review board is conducting a comprehensive review of policies and procedures.

Next came a series of audio and video files including 911 calls, police dispatch calls and videos from a police car dash camera as well as officer body-worn cameras.

In a recorded 911 call, a man tells the dispatcher, "I just got robbed ... This guy came, and he pulled an assault rifle on me." The carjacking victim describes the suspect as telling him, "Get the (expletive) out of the car right now, leave everything in the car, everything out of your pockets."

Next was a video identified as "Officer Saini mobile audio and video recording," filmed from the vantage point looking out of the windshield of a patrol car. The patrol car follows a car down a narrow street with vehicles parked on both sides of the road. Both cars stop, and there's a sound that appears to be the patrol car door opening.

Next is the sound of someone speaking, followed by a rapid volley of gunshots, followed by a different voice, seemingly a dispatcher, saying, "Shots fired."

Several other videos were shown, including one appearing to depict Komoda driving to the scene and engaging in gunfire as described by Knight.

During the dashboard camera footage, a member of the audience was visibly distraught and weeping. One of the town hall's organizers handed her a box of tissues. After the presentation, Council Member Lediju spoke with her at length, and the two hugged.

Nairobi Kenya, who has lived in Vallejo since 2012, said she attended to get the whole story.

"I'm a community advocate," she said. "I came to get information to bring back to my church."

Kenya said of the shooting, "To me, it's a sign of the times, the way the world is going now —a lot of violence."

She pointed out, "I didn't know what they were shooting at."

The videos and photos shared during the presentation did not show Querol himself.

John Lewis, chair of the city's Police Oversight and Accountability Commission, said, "The only thing to do is to wait for the investigation to be completed. (The commission) will be reviewing the results.

"A life is lost. It's a tragedy for the family, for the city, a tragedy all the way around," Lewis said.

A Vallejo resident who identified herself as "Sala" said she is waiting to see what the full investigation reveals before coming to any conclusions.

"It was sanitized. We didn't see bodies or blood," she said, adding, "That was appropriate. I didn't need to see any of that."

Sala described the incident as a tragedy. "We have to figure out a different way to talk to each other, to respond to each other.

"Weapons do speak," Sala said, "but they don't speak my language."

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© 2026 Times-Herald (Vallejo, Calif.).

Visit www.timesheraldonline.com.

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