State Parks ranger shoots and kills man armed with knife near California ski resort
OLYMPIC VALLEY - A man armed with a knife was shot dead by a California State Parks ranger near Palisades Tahoe, officials said Friday.
California State Parks said the shooting happened at around 10 a.m. at the Olympic Village Inn. The ranger involved in the shooting attempted to pull over a vehicle that was involved in a carjacking in Tahoe City.
The driver led a pursuit that ended in a crash near the inn. That is when the parks department said the suspect exited the vehicle with a knife in hand and the ranger shot the suspect. A State Parks spokesperson could not confirm how many shots were fired.
Despite efforts to save his life, the suspect was declared dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
The suspect was identified on Saturday as 29-year-old Vinton Miller. The Placer County Sheriff's Office said Miller was from Jamaica and was staying in the Tahoe area on a work visa. Palisades Tahoe said in a statement that Miller was an employee at the resort.
Doug Johnson, a State Parks spokesperson, said that while a shooting involving a parks ranger is uncommon, it's something they are trained for.
"They have the training that normal police officers have anywhere," he explained.
The State Parks Officer involved in the shooting is on paid administrative leave, according to Johnson.
Snowboarder Lauren Kossy arrived at the parking lot just before noon to find a portion of the parking lot blocked off with police tape.
"It's shocking everyone around here at Olympic Valley. Everyone is pretty low-key. Everyone just wants to get on the mountain," she said.
A spokesperson for Palisades Tahoe said lifts remained open as the nearby incident happened.
The Olympic Village Inn is located on the 1900 block of Chamonix Place and is nearly half a mile from the Palisades Tahoe Aerial Tram.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office and California Highway Patrol assisted California State Parks with the investigation.
