Deputy shoots, kills armed driver near Galt, Sacramento sheriff says
A man was shot and killed by a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy Friday morning west of Galt in southern Sacramento County.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the shooting occurred on New Hope Road about a quarter-mile west of Orr Road. The scene of the shooting, which happened just before 8 a.m., was near Grizzly Slough, about a mile east of Interstate 5.
About 7 a.m., the deputy was responding to a report of a woman in distress in the area and found her and a man inside a silver sedan parked on the north shoulder, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Ed Igoe said. The deputy spoke with the woman, who said she was not safe, and put her in the back of his patrol vehicle.
The man then grabbed a shotgun from the vehicle. Igoe said the deputy talked to the man and tried to de-escalate for “several” minutes and then “an officer-involved shooting occurred.” Igoe did not have information about the circumstances that immediately led up to the deputy shooting and striking the man.
According to radio dispatches reviewed by The Sacramento Bee, the deputy told dispatchers that the man was “non-compliant” and that the deputy had “one at gunpoint” because the man was holding a gun and walking away.
Igoe said he did not have information on if the man fired the gun. It was also unknown if the man pointed the firearm at the deputy or the woman.
As other agencies were responding to the area, the deputy reported a series of instances in which the man was not following deputy commands, instead doing actions such as walking back and forth and smoking a cigarette.
Just before 7:52 a.m., the deputy reported shots fired and said the man was down, though the deputy relayed that the man continued to have a “hand on the gun” and not comply.
Igoe said the deputy and woman were “OK.” It’s not clear if she had any injuries or was medically evaluated.
About 8:05 a.m., officials reported they were “starting CPR” before the man was declared dead by firefighters.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will identify the man after his relatives are notified.
This is the second deputy-involved shooting this month after a driver was shot by two deputies after they pulled over his vehicle amidst a felony investigation on Feb. 16 in the Vineyard neighborhood of south Sacramento. The man, who was hospitalized, had a gun, but it was unclear if he pointed it or fired at deputies. Neither deputy was injured.
The Sheriff’s Office is expected to place the deputy who fired the weapon on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office will conduct its own review. Both practices are standard for deputy-involved shootings. The agency is not identifying the deputy, Igoe said.
The road has been closed since the shooting Friday morning and would likely remain shut down into the afternoon, Igoe said. Motorists should avoid the area.
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 8:52 AM.
