The manhunt for the active shooter ends yesterday afternoon after an 18 hour stand-off.
San Luis Obispo county sheriff Ian Parkinson speaking at a news conference yesterday at the county sheriff’s substation in Templeton.
SHOOTER SHOT 6.12.20
The active shooter event ended in a hail of bullets yesterday afternoon near the river bed south of Paso Robles. During yesterday’s news conference following the death of the 26-year-old Mason Lira… sheriff Ian Parkinson says it all began with a planned ambush.
The sheriff says he and Paso Robles police chief Ty Lewis wanted the stand-off to end peacefully, but he says that Mason Lira acted cowardly.
Police chief Ty Lewis says the investigation into the homicide of a homeless man continues and the wounding of four officers who tried to arrest 26-year-old Mason James Lira, a homeless man who lived in Monterey county. He was shot dead during a gunfight yesterday near the Salinas river bed just south of Paso Robles.
CRIMINAL HISTORY OF LIRA 6.12.20
So, who was 26-year-old Mason Lira? He was a homeless man out of the Monterey area. Police records indicate a long history of run-ins with law enforcement officers. Battery on a police officer, failing to appear in court for an allegation that he trespassed on a school campus.
Santa Cruz superior court has more than a dozen offenses including trespassing and providing a false ID to police. He was scheduled to appear in Santa Cruz superior court in July. He was scheduled to appear in court in Tulare in August for another failure-to-appear charge.
He wrote a self-published book entitled, “I am James; Part 1.” The cover of the book includes a picture of a butterfly. The book is available on Amazon. On Facebook he rambled and posted photos of guns. He left long nonsensical messages on Facebook. His family says he had mental health issues, but refused to take his medication.
