ORINDA, California – Authorities have identified the man who was shot after a heated traffic accident that sent shockwaves inside Orinda.
The victim was identified as 50-year-old Scott Patrick Decker of Orinda.
The fatal shooting came after a rolling dispute that ended at Las Vegas Road and La Espiral, north of Highway 24, involving a Toyota 4Runner, driven by Decker, and a Tesla, shortly after 11 a.m.
The shooter, who was driving the Tesla, told police he shot Decker in self-defense after Decker blocked him with his SUV, got out and struck him.
The driver, described only as a 72-year-old man, was detained but not arrested.
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The Tesla driver lives half a mile from the crime scene.
Decker’s father, Scott Decker, told KTVU on Friday that he had become estranged from his son but was saddened by his death.
“Too young, too fast,” he said. “He was one heck of a kid. I hadn’t seen him in 10 years.”
He added, “It’s just sad, just so sad that such a wasted talent.”
Asked about reports the other driver told police he had acted in self-defense, the father said, “I have no idea what Scott did, you know? He could be pretty aggressive at times, so I don’t know. But I” I let the police find out, and I don’t even want to get involved.”
Neighbors tell KTVU Decker was engaged to be married and had been taking care of his fiancee’s children in Orinda.
On Friday, no one answered the door to the suspected shooter’s home. A man who answered the phone earlier in the day hung up when contacted by KTVU.
The scene Thursday had a large police presence, with officers from Lafayette, Moragaand Costa Contra County The Sheriff’s Office responds, because murders in the wealthy city of 19,000 are rare.
“I heard a loud bang and my first thought was, ‘OK, gun,’ and then I thought, ‘No way.'” I thought maybe it was just like a tire blowing, Shawn James previously told KTVU after the shooting.
In 2019, a Halloween party at an Airbnb turned deadly when five people were killed and four others injured in one mass shooting.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. Email Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan