Redwood City: Police seek suspect who shot man in the face at hotel

REDWOOD CITY — A man is expected to survive after he was shot in the face by a would-be robber in front of a hotel on El Camino Real early Thursday, according to police.

The gunman remains at large, police added.

The shooting was first reported just after 4 a.m. at the Days Inn at 2650 El Camino Real in Redwood City by a ShotSpotter gunshot-detection system, police said.

That was followed by a 911 call received by Atherton police in which the wounded man reported being shot in the face and that he was being driven to a hospital by his friend.

Atherton police officers caught up with the pair at Middlefield Road and Ringwood Avenue, about three miles south of the shooting site. The injured man was treated at a hospital then released, police said.

According to police, the victim told investigators he and his friend were staying at the Days Inn and had been sitting in a car parked in front of their room when a man walked up to them and demanded that the victim “empty his pockets.”

When the victim refused, the assailant brandished a gun and opened fire, hitting the victim in the face. The gunman ran off along a rear driveway toward El Camino Real, police said.

Police released a general description of the shooter: A man about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds, last seen wearing a blue shirt.

Anyone with information about the case can contact Detective Ryan Kimber at 650-780-7138 or leave a tip at 650-780-7107.