Eric Pops Zarate, 26, of San Jose was fatally shot on March 6, 2021 near North San Pedro and West Hedding streets. Shots were reported about 1:50 p.m.; officers who responded found Zarate suffering from gunshot wounds and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators concluded Zarate was not the intended target. The shooting appears connected to a mistaken identification of a different man, Malik Jackson, and investigators described the incident as possibly retaliatory. Two suspects, Eric Zarate, 43, and Michael Herrera, 34, were arrested and charged with murder; the arrests followed swiftly and were influenced by the shooting’s proximity to a recent mass shooting at a VTA maintenance facility. The Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office initially misidentified the victim, complicating the family’s ordeal.

What new information might help clarify why Zarate was present at that location and how the mistaken identity occurred?