FRESNO COUNTY - The suspect shot and killed by a California Highway Patrol officer has been identified as a 24-year-old Clovis man named Billy Kongphouthakhoun (Kong-Putah-Coon). An autopsy has been performed and toxicology tests are pending.

Shortly before midnight on Wednesday, California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of a vehicle collision. The driver of a Toyota Tundra pickup, Billy Kongphouthakhoun, crashed into the back of a Chevy Tahoe occupied by a man and woman, both in their 30s. This occurred on southbound Highway 41, just south of Manning Avenue. When officers arrived, they found the Tahoe upside down and Kongphouthakhoun to still be inside his pickup truck, which was right-side up.

An officer approached and tried speaking with Kongphouthakhoun, then noticed he was showing signs of being under the influence of alcohol. Kongphouthakhoun refused to comply with the officer’s request to step out of the truck. The officer then saw Kongphouthakhoun reach for a gun, which was in his truck.

Kongphouthakhoun grabbed it, got out of the vehicle and ignored the officer’s commands to drop the gun. The officer fired multiple shots, striking Kongphouthakhoun. Medics who were already on scene treating the man and woman taken out of the Tahoe turned their attention to Kongphouthakhoun. He was transported to the hospital where he later died.