WALNUT CREEK -- The man who allegedly shot a California Highway Patrol officer during a traffic stop on Interstate 680 Tuesday morning near Alamo was identified today as Christopher Boone Lacy, 38.
Contra Costa Sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said that Lacy, a resident of the small Northern California town of Corning, was shot and killed by a fellow officer when Lacy shot CHP Officer Kenyon Youngstrom in the head after being pulled over for an obstructed license plate.
Youngstrom remained in critical condition Wednesday morning, Lee said.
The shooting happened at about 8:20 a.m. on the southbound shoulder of I-680 near the Livorna Road offramp in Alamo. Youngstrom had pulled over to deal with a dead deer
by the road and his partner, driving another patrol car, pulled over Lacy for having an obstructed license plate, Lee said.Lacy pulled his green Jeep Wrangler to the side of the road behind Youngstrom's patrol car, with the second patrol car pulling up behind Lacy, Lee said.
Youngstrom approached the Jeep from the front and spoke to Lacy through the driver's side door for 30 to 45 seconds, at which point Lacy, "without warning," drew a handgun and shot Youngstrom in the head, Lee said. Youngstrom fell back into the roadway and collapsed.
Youngstrom's partner heard the gunshots as he approached the passenger side of the Jeep, drew his own gun and fired numerous shots into it, fatally wounding Lacy, Lee said.
The second
officer returned to his car to radio in "officer down" as shocked motorists who witnessed the shooting phoned 911 for a fallen officer, Lee said.The officer returned to give first aid to Youngstrom, and multiple civilians stopped to help as well, Lee said.
Investigators found a handgun, two loaded gun clips and a knife in the Jeep, Lee said.
Lacy did not have any outstanding warrants. His last arrest had been for driving under the influence in Marin County in 2006, but he had
Emergency personnel finish up at the scene of an officer-involved shooting on southbound Interstate 680 in Alamo, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. A California Highway Patrol officer and a suspect were shot. (Anda Chu/Staff)
no other apparent criminal record, Lee said.Youngstrom, a 37-year-old married father of four, was taken to John Muir Medical Center after the shooting and remained on life support there Wednesday morning, Lee said.
Meanwhile, investigators had searched Lacy's Corning home Tuesday night, finding at least six computers and several disc drives, but no other weapons, Lee said. A tech team was continuing to pore over the computers Wednesday as no motive for the shooting had yet become clear.
Lacy's parents live in Oregon and have been cooperating with investigators, Lee said.
Lacy "mostly keeps to himself and is something of a loner," Lee said.
Youngstrom, on the other hand, was described by colleague Sgt. Diana
McDermott as "a man of faith who is very close to his family."Flowers were placed outside Youngstrom's two-story home in Cordelia, near Fairfield, as CHP colleagues came by to support the family.
The Oakbrook Elementary School PTA in Cordelia is planning an informal vigil for Youngstrom at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night in Ridgeview Park at 4950 Silver Creek Road in Fairfield.
"The family has asked we respect their privacy and give them time and space to figure out what they're doing, and we're trying to do that," said PTA Vice President Susan Young. "We just want them to know we are sending them our best and want to help in any way we can. He's fighting for his life and we're here to support him."
There are no planned speakers and the vigil is expected to be a brief, quiet show of support, she said, with a moment of silence and candles lit.
The Youngstrom home in a middle-class commuter neighborhood in Cordelia, located near I-680, set against rolling hills.
The officer's family "asked for everyone's prayers as Officer Youngstrom fights for his life," Paul Fontana, assistant chief of the CHP, said in a brief statement Tuesday night.
Youngstrom graduated from the academy in 2005 and worked mostly in the Martinez regional office, having been assigned to the Contra Costa office immediately after graduation. Before joining the CHP, Youngstrom served in the U.S. Army Reserve, Fontana said.
"We are family, and the community is part of that family as well," said an emotional McDermott. "This is a situation where we all take an oath not to swerve from the path of duty. As you can imagine, it's difficult.
"You think about how tomorrow it may be my day or anyone else's," she said. " ... That's true every day you send a mother, father, husband or wife out to represent and protect the rest of us. We're grateful for all the support we know we're getting from the communities we serve."
The investigation into the shooting is being led by the Sheriff's office and District Attorney's Office, which is standard procedure for any officer-involved shooting that occurs in Contra Costa County.
Contact Sean Maher at 925-943-8013 and Daniel M. Jimenez at 510-262-2728. Follow them at Twitter.com/OneSeanMaher and Twitter.com/DMJreports. Staff writers Robert Salonga, Matthias Gafni, Erin Ivie, Kristin J. Bender, David DeBolt and Elisabeth Nardi contributed to this report.
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