Suspect killed by deputy in Templeton shooting was member of “white supremacist gang”
TEMPLETON, Calif. - A man was shot and killed in an altercation with a San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Deputy Thursday morning.
It happened around 10:20 a.m. near Templeton Cemetery Road.
According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, a sheriff's deputy was driving on the 3400 block of Theater Drive when he noticed a vehicle on the side of the road.
The deputy turned around and found the vehicle unoccupied. As the deputy continued to drive, he located a man who was wanted on a felony warrant.
According to San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson, the deputy attempted to stop the man, but the man fled into the nearby cemetery and hid. Parkinson said the suspect ambushed the deputy from the cemetery.
The deputy was wounded in the exchange and called for backup as the suspect fled out of the cemetery.
A suspect was killed in a shootout with a sheriff's deputy Thursday
Two additional deputies arrived on scene and engaged the gunman near the man's vehicle on Theater Road. The suspect was still armed with a handgun, Sheriff Ian Parkinson said, when deputies fired on him and fatally wounded him.
The deputy was flown to a nearby hospital for treatment. He is in stable condition and awaiting surgery for his injuries, Parkinson said.
The Suspect
The suspect had a felony warrant out for his arrest and had multiple prior felony gun convictions.
Parkinson said the suspect was a member of a white supremacist gang. The sheriff's gang task force was conducting a criminal investigation prior to the shooting.
The man's identity has not yet been released.
A search warrant was issued for the man's home.
Road Closures
The public was advised to avoid the area, but traffic ultimately began to back up.
As CHP attempted to stop traffic on the freeway to keep drivers out of the line of fire, a semi-truck jackknifed and crashed near the scene, causing significant delays.
Theater Drive was closed while investigators searched the scene. Parkinson said there were two crime scenes: one in the cemetery and the other on Theater Drive.
Parkinson said the roadway would reopen once investigators were done collecting evidence.
