Authorities on Wednesday identified a man who shot and critically wounded a California Highway Patrol officer on Interstate Highway 680 near Alamo on Tuesday as 38-year-old Christopher Boone Lacy, noting that Lacy's only prior arrest was for driving under the influence in Marin.
Lacy, a resident of Corning (Tehama County), was fatally shot by a second CHP officer after he shot Officer Kenyon Youngstrom during a traffic stop on southbound I-680 near the Livorna Road exit on Tuesday morning.
Contra Costa County sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said at a news conference in Martinez this morning that shortly before the shooting, Youngstrom was responding to a report of a dead deer along the highway.
He had pulled over to the road's shoulder around 8:30 a.m. when his partner, who was nearby in another patrol car, informed him that he was making a traffic stop on a green Jeep Wrangler with an obstructed license plate, Lee said.
The Jeep stopped near Youngstrom's patrol car, and Youngstrom approached the driver, Lacy, as his partner pulled over, Lee said.
Youngstrom had a brief conversation with the driver.
"Then, without any warning, Lacy pulled out a gun and shot Officer Youngstrom in the head," Lee said.
As Youngstrom fell to the ground, the second officer saw what was happening and begin firing at Lacy, hitting him and critically wounding him, Lee said.
Youngstrom and Lacy were both taken to John Muir Medical Center, where Lacy died. Youngstrom was still in critical condition this morning.
Inside the Jeep, detectives found a loaded semi-automatic handgun, two loaded magazines and a knife, Lee said.
He said an autopsy on Lacy this morning showed the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head.
Lee said Lacy has one prior arrest in 2006 in Sausalito for driving under the influence, but does not have any other criminal record.
An online resume posted on Chris Lacy's now shut-down personal website chrislacy.net lists 10 positions he claimed to have held since December 2005 after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from San Francisco State University in 2005. He was originally from the Bay Area and worked in computer engineering here, according to a family member.
By Tuesday afternoon, Youngstrom's extended family had gathered at John Muir Medical Center. Youngstrom is a seven-year veteran of the CHP's Contra Costa-area office.
— Bay City News Service
