Man fatally shot by CHP near Dixon identified as Sacramento resident
(Courtesy image, Graphic by Solano NewsNet)
A man who was fatally shot near Dixon by California Highway Patrol officers over the weekend has been identified as a Sacramento resident.
Karl Walker, 29, was shot by a responding CHP officer following a single vehicle crash along the west-bound lanes of Interstate 80 parallel to O’Day Road and near the Midway Road off-ramp. Solano NewsNet was first to report the shooting shortly after it happened Saturday evening.
On Wednesday, an activist group in Sacramento revealed Walker’s identity, saying the man was simply waiting for help after running out of gas on the freeway.
“He was in his girlfriend’s car at the time of the incident, and they filled her back card window with bullets,” the group said.
Police say that account doesn’t tell the full story of what happened on Saturday. In a statement, the Solano County District Attorney’s Office claimed Walker pulled a “loaded firearm and threatened the officers’ safety” shortly after the CHP arrived on scene. He died from his injuries a short time later.
Prior to the arrival of CHP officers, eyewitnesses said Walker appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance, according to dispatch logs reviewed by Solano NewsNet.
West-bound lanes of Interstate 80 were closed throughout the night while police and other officials worked to process the scene of the shooting. The Solano County Major Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident.
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