Man pulls out gun during road rage incident on crowded State Street
Pedestrians on State Street witnessed a road rage incident unfold before their very eyes Thursday afternoon.
According to the Santa Barbara Police Department, 911 operators were inundated with calls around 3:30 p.m. Thursday about a rapidly escalating road rage incident on the 1000 block of State Street. Two men sitting in the front seat of a southbound parked purple Lexus SUV got into an argument with an older man in a silver Porsche convertible. The older man exited his parked convertible and used a cane for assistance as he approached the men in the SUV.
The driver of the SUV, 34-year-old Chris Michael Bair yelled and verbally threatened the older man. Bair then reportedly pointed a fully-loaded and bullet-chambered 40-caliber Glock handgun directly at the older man. Bair told the older man that he had a concealed carry permit, police said.
Within minutes, officers arrived on scene and arrested Bair and the older man.
Bair works as a body guard out of Orange County. Multiple witnesses described the older man as the victim during the incident, police said.
Bair was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail for brandishing a gun and making felony terrorist threats towards the older man. His bail was set at $50,000.
