Anderson, CA – A convicted felon was fatally shot by an armed citizen on Sunday night after he intentionally crashed his pickup truck into his ex-girlfriend’s home multiple times, according to police.
The series of events leading to the deadly shooting began earlier on June 19, when 59-year-old Frank Brinkley allegedly assaulted a man on Parkville Road and fled in a blue Ford pickup truck, the Anderson Police Department (APD) said in a press release on Monday.
The victim of the assault told investigators Brinkley had been drinking alcohol and that he was intoxicated, police said.
After fleeing the scene, Brinkley drove over to a home belonging to a friend of his ex-girlfriend’s and rammed his truck into a vehicle and a fire pit at that location, according to police.
As he sped off down Deschutes Road and into the City of Anderson, the APD began receiving calls about a potential drunk driver.
This reporting party indicated Brinkley was driving with a flat tire and driving in a reckless manner,” the APD said.
Police said the suspect then drove over to his ex-girlfriend’s home on Hemlock Avenue and proceeded to intentionally ram his truck into the front of her house “multiple times.”
The truck slammed into the woman’s garage, as well as her front door and living room areas.
A man inside the house grabbed a shotgun and confronted Brinkley from behind the front security screen door.
Police said he “told Brinkley if he did not stop his actions he would be shot,” according to the press release.
The suspect responded by rapidly accelerating his truck towards the armed man’s location, according to the APD.
“Believing his life and the lives of his family members were in immediate danger of death or serious injury the male fired one shot, striking Brinkley,” the police department said.
The APD received a report about the incident at approximately 8:50 p.m.
They arrived to find Brinkley suffering from a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Police immediately began lifesaving efforts until paramedics arrived and took over, but the suspect was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators said the shotgun used during the incident was lawfully owned and that the occupants of the home have cooperated with detectives.
No arrests have been made.
The Shasta County District Attorney will review the case to determine whether or not any charges will be filed.
The APD said Brinkley was a convicted felon with prior arrests for drug possession, stalking, resisting and delaying a peace officer, and criminal threats.
Brinkley’s ex-girlfriend had a domestic violence restraining order against him at the time of the attack.
Police said he had been arrested multiple times for violating the restraining order.
