Investigators: DUI suspect fatally shot after he steps out of crashed SUV, pulls gun on officer

A man shot by a California Highway Patrol officer late Wednesday night after he allegedly pulled a gun during a DUI investigation was identified by the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office as Billy Kongphouthakhoun, 24, of Clovis.

The sheriff’s office is investigating the deadly incident, which took place on Highway 41 near Manning Avenue, south of Fresno, just before midnight.

Highway 41 was closed for hours from Manning Avenue to Floral Avenue during the investigation. It was reopened just before 10 a.m.

According to sheriff’s spokesman Tony Botti, Kongphouthakhoun was southbound on 41 just south of Manning in a Toyota Tundra when he rear-ended a Chevrolet Tahoe occupied by a man and a woman in their 30s. The impact overturned the Tahoe, causing minor injuries to the occupants.

An arriving CHP officer who approached Kongphouthakhoun’s truck suspected that he was under the influence and asked him to step out. Instead, Kongphouthakhoun reached for a firearm and got out, ignoring the officer’s commands to drop the gun.

At that point, the officer fired multiple shots, Botti said, striking Kongphouthakhoun. Emergency workers treating the couple in the Tahoe turned their attention to Kongphouthakhoun, and he was rushed to Community Regional Medical Center, where he died of the wounds.

Neither the officer nor the couple in the Tahoe were identified.

This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 6:43 AM.