Skinhead Leader Reportedly Killed In Sacramento-Area Shooting
CITRUS HEIGHTS, Sacramento County (CBS) — A well-known white supremacist leader was apparently killed in an early morning shooting at his Citrus Heights home, although investigators have not yet publicly released the victim's identity.
The Citrus Heights Police Department said a 40-year-old man was found dead from gunshot wounds to the head and upper torso inside a home on the 5900 block of Merlindale Drive just before 4:00 a.m. Wednesday.
A 33-year-old woman was rushed to the hospital for treatment for gunshot wounds to the leg. She is expected to survive.
A third adult and a teen were also inside the home at the time of the shooting and were not injured. Police detained a person of interest in the case around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, but have not released the person's identity.
A report from the Southern Poverty Law Center said the man fatally shot was David Lynch, a white supremacy organizer who has been active since the 1980s and leader of a Sacramento-based skinhead group.
Citrus Heights police spokesman Lt. Gary Hendricks said investigators are looking into the victim's associations, but have not released confirmation of his identity.
"Our investigators are actively investigating that angle as well," Hendricks said.
The shooting took place in a home owned by Lynch and a pickup truck still parked in the property's driveway Wednesday evening had a license plate holder bearing the phrase, "My boss is an Austrian painter," a reference to Adolf Hitler.
Neighbors said they were surprised to learn of the victim's alleged involvement in white supremacy organizations, describing him as "very polite" and calling the incident painful for the neighborhood.
"If he was active, he wasn't active in this neighborhood," said neighbor Ralph Peri.
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