Vallejo police shot and killed a man Monday afternoon

VALLEJO – Vallejo police officers shot and killed a man on Monday afternoon, with the Vallejo Police Department alleging that the man was driving a carjacked vehicle when he opened fire on the officers. 

Per a Vallejo Police Department press release published early Tuesday morning, the man was 44-year-old Rommel Delfin Querol, a resident of Vallejo.

Police spokesperson Sgt. Rashad Hollis told the Sun that the department received a call at approximately 12:19 p.m. about an armed carjacking happening around the 400 block of Ryder Street in South Vallejo. Officers located the vehicle on Mahogany Drive and Broadway Street at approximately 1:15 p.m. Querol, the driver, started down Mahogany Drive — a dead-end street — and officers initiated a “felony traffic stop,” which is a police procedure where officers draw their weapons, as they have reason to believe the vehicle has an armed occupant. 

“When the officers conducted a felony traffic stop, the driver of the vehicle opened fire on the officer,” said Hollis. “The officer returned fire, and the driver was struck at least one time.” 

Hollis said that the officers “rendered medical aid until the paramedics arrived.” The paramedics pronounced Querol dead on the scene. 

The two officers involved in the shooting were not injured, and are on administrative leave while the criminal and administrative investigations are conducted. 

Hollis said that because this is an officer-involved shooting, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office will handle the investigation into the case. He added that he can’t share details about the identity of the officers involved because now the county is in charge. 

In an emailed statement, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office said that the Solano County Major Crimes Task Force, which is under the supervision of the District Attorney, responded to the scene to conduct an independent investigation into the shooting. Due to the ongoing investigation, the task force is not releasing any further details at this time.

According to the press release, the City of Vallejo will use an independent investigator to also look into the incident. 

Aerial footage from ABC7 News shows the vehicle was a gray sedan, and it crashed into a fence near the end of the street. There appear to be two bullet holes in the front window on the drivers side, with the rear window blown out. ABC7 also stated, per police radio, that there was also a passenger in the vehicle who was detained. 

IHart, Vallejo’s mobile crisis response team, was onsite to inform the neighborhood what occurred and offer any counseling resources for residents who felt impacted by the event. 

“We just go door to door, like, ‘Hey, are you aware that an incident happened in the community earlier today?’” said program manager Rayvon Williamson. “We give them an understanding of what happened, and try to give them assurances.” 

Williamson said that a lot of residents they talked to were unsurprised when they learned about the carjacking and shooting. “A lot of them said for this particular area, they’re kind of used to things happening,” Williamson said. “One neighbor actually said they’d be moving because of the amount of things that have happened in the area.” 

Resident Ligaya Nowak said that she was cooking in the kitchen when she heard about four gunshots ring out, with the last gunshot sounding the loudest. She didn’t know where the gunshots were coming from, so she ran to the living room and hid, worried there would be stray bullets. 

“I was so scared,” Nowak said. She said that the residents there often deal with crime in their area, as there’s a lot of drug activity that happens outside the car and motorcycle shop at the front of Mahogany Drive. Nowak said this is the first shooting she’s experienced in the area though. 

This incident marks the Vallejo Police Department’s first fatal shooting since June 2, 2020, when then-Officer Jarrett Tonn shot and killed Sean Monterrosa during a felony traffic stop. Tonn said he believed Monterrosa had a gun, but Monterrosa only had a hammer. In March, the city of Vallejo paid $8.5 million to Monterrosa’s family, the largest civil rights settlement in the city’s history. 

Last week, Monterrosa’s sister, along with other family members of those killed by police, spoke in front of Vallejo City Council about how they wanted to see more accountability from the Vallejo Police Department.  

The Vallejo Police Department said it will hold a town meeting in the next 7 to 14 days to share more information about Querol’s shooting. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include comments from the Solano County District Attorney’s Office.