Sacramento man killed in random road rage shooting in early March, Sunnyvale police say

A Sacramento man was killed in a road rage shooting in Santa Clara County earlier this month after the shooter intentionally caused the crash, according to the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety in court documents.

Jason Kazumi Tahara of San Jose crashed with another vehicle carrying Rukuan Zhang of Sacramento and another passenger near Homestead Road and Linnet Lane in Sunnyvale on March 7, according to a news release. While Zhang, 20, was preparing to exchange information, Tahara, 23, fired several shots from a handgun into the car, killing Zhang and injuring the passenger.

Tahara intentionally caused the crash slamming on the brakes and stopping his car suddenly, according to court documents obtained by The Mercury News. Detectives believe the act was random, as Zhang and Tahara had no prior connections.

Officers found and arrested Tahara hours later, but called the bomb squad after finding a suspicious object near a propane tank in the car. No explosives were found, but officers uncovered two tactical rifles with loaded high capacity magazines, two loaded handguns with loaded high capacity magazines, a body armor vest and over 400 rounds of ammunition.

Tahara was charged with murder and attempted murder. He is being held without bail at the Santa Clara County Main Jail.