Father of fatal San Jose hookah lounge shooting speaks out
Father of victim killed in San Jose hookah lounge shooting speaks out.
The father of the man shot and killed at a hookah lounge in San Jose's Willow Glen neighborhood is speaking out; his son, Elijah Dominguez, played varsity football at Oak Grove High School. Police are providing few details about their investigation.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The father of a man shot and killed at a hookah lounge in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood is speaking out.
San Jose police released no new official details on the investigation on Tuesday, so what the family heard about the incident is not confirmed from investigators.
Family speaks out
What they're saying:
The father of the victim, Elijah Dominguez, has heard there may have been a fight – with unknown suspect or suspects returning later with guns.
Elijah Dominguez played varsity football at Oak Grove High School, where he graduated in 2019.
He had been working at a traffic control company at the time of his passing. Elijah’s father, Jesse, is himself a football coach at Oak Grove.
"He loved competing. He loved competing," Jesse Dominguez said of his son. "Elijah was just a great soul. He was a wonderful kid. Just a joy to be around. He lights up every room with his electric smile," Dominguez said.
How Elijah Dominguez ended up at the "818 Hookah Lounge" on Lincoln Avenue in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood on Sunday morning is not known. San Jose police say they received calls of shots fired just before 3 a.m., and security video from a nearby business shows people running into the street.
Hearing the news over the phone
The Dominguez family soon began receiving calls from friends that Elijah may have been shot. "It was tough when we first received the news. We were told he was at the hospital but when we got there we were not allowed to see him," Dominguez said.
Exactly what happened is all a matter of rumor and speculation based upon what some others at the lounge have relayed to the family.
None of the information has been confirmed by investigators. "We are hearing there was a possible altercation earlier and this individual – whoever it was – came back and did what he did," Dominguez said.
For now, a memorial continues to grow on the sidewalk outside the family home.
"Elijah made a mistake of being out too late in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is something we have to deal with as a family – we ask ourselves did we do something wrong? Did we make a mistake? Did I not just call him and tell him to come home? That is right now what we are dealing with," Dominguez said.
At last report one of the other victims – who the family says was the friend that Elijah went to the lounge with – remains in critical condition. Two others suffered non-life-threatening injuries.