Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Authorities believe the man fatally shot Thursday at Deadman’s Campground near Kennedy Meadows in Tuolumne County, CA, had entered the tent of a sleeping couple he did not know and died during the ensuing confrontation.
The man who was fatally shot early Thursday at a campground near Kennedy Meadows had entered the tent of a sleeping couple he did not know and was killed during the ensuing confrontation, according to the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Department’s preliminary investigation.
The department issued the update Friday in a Facebook post. The shooting took place at Deadman Campground in a high-elevation part of the Stanislaus National Forest along Highway 108 and near the Kennedy Meadows Resort. The area is about 2 1/2 hours northeast of Modesto.
“Reports indicate that a man and his girlfriend were asleep in their tent when an unassociated 36-year-old Watsonville man entered their tent” about 2 a.m., according to the post. “The woman woke up to the Watsonville man on top of her. The woman yelled to wake up her boyfriend ... During the ensuing confrontation, the Watsonville man was shot, causing his death.”
The department reported that investigators are working with the Tuolumne County District Attorney’s Office and no arrests have been made. The Sheriff’s Department said names are not being released now, pending more investigation and notification of family.
A department spokesman did not return a phone call seeking more information Friday afternoon. And a woman who answered the phone at the Kennedy Meadows Resort said she did not have any information.
Kevin Valine covers local government, homelessness and general assignment for The Modesto Bee. He is a graduate of San Jose State University and grew up in San Jose.