SAN JOSE — As a weekend of largely peaceful and jubilant Cinco de Mayo celebrations wound down, police were called to investigate a double stabbing near one event site and were instituting road closures to cut off access to areas where rowdy crowds were expanding, authorities said.
The San Jose Police Department announced at 6 p.m. Sunday evening that it was diverting traffic off East Santa Clara Street downtown and in the area of King and Story roads in East San Jose “due to illegal activity and safety concerns.”
Relatedly, the Santa Clara County Valley Transportation Authority also announced Sunday that bus riders should expect delays throughout evening lasting as long as 40 minutes to an hour in parts of downtown and East San Jose affected by the diversions and accompanying street closures.
When asked to specify, the police department told this news organizations that some of the activity included people fighting, car sideshows and people walking on roadways. Police did not offer additional details.
The most serious incident involved a 5:27 p.m. report of a double stabbing on South King Road near Lido Way, in front of Emma Prusch Farm Park. Two people were taken to hospitals with what were described as life-threatening injuries, police said.
That site was along a stretch of South King Road that had been closed off to traffic for most of the day in deference to the East San Jose Cinco de Mayo Parade, with events including a highly anticipated lowrider parade. But those festivities officially ended at 5 p.m., about a half hour before the stabbing was reported.
Just after 9 p.m., police announced another traffic diversion deployed near Monterey Road and Southside Drive, which is well outside the day’s celebration areas. The department cited “illegal activity and reckless driving” in a social media post.
Police emphasized, as they have in the month leading up to Cinco de Mayo weekend, that “traffic diversions are temporary and will be lifted as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.” That has been repeated as an assurance to residents and civic leaders who contended that freeway offramp closures downtown during last year’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations were discriminatory and unwarranted.
This year, city leaders and community organizations banded together to present a more copacetic approach to ensuring public safety during the weekend’s festivities.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
