Officials ID man fatally shot by Redding PD officers yesterday

UPDATED: Thursday, April 4, 11 a.m., With additional details.

REDDING — Officials have identified a man who was fatally shot after a violent confrontation with officers in Redding yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, April 3. Shasta County Sheriff’s Office has since identified the man as Donnell James Lang, 48, of Redding. The deadly shooting happened on Hemingway St., near the McConnell Foundation and Mountain View Middle School. 

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Redding PD said yesterday the man was shot and killed around 3:30 p.m., after becoming combative and violent with officers who responded to reports of a man acting suspiciously. At least one 911 caller reported the man appeared to have a firearm tucked into his waistband and was seen watching children in the area.

“Several of our officers responded to a call from a citizen who stated there was a male subject acting very suspicious and possibly armed with a handgun,” Redding Police Cpt. Eric Wallace told KRCR News from the scene of the fatal shooting.

Officers work at the scene of yesterday afternoon’s deadly officer-involved shooting on Hemingway St., near the McConnell Foundation and Mountain View Middle School.

Although Lang was “semi-cooperative” with officers when they attempted to detain him to search him for weapons, he “then became very uncooperative,” according to Wallace. “During a struggle, one of the patrol officers … fired several shots,” stopping the man’s violent resistance.

Despite life-saving efforts, Lang succumbed to his gunshot injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Investigators remained at the scene throughout the night, and later reported they did not locate a weapon, as had initially been reported by witnesses.

Area residents later said that nothing like yesterday’s shooting had ever happened in their “normally quiet” neighborhood and the incident had left them shaken.

No officers or other citizens were injured during the shooting, according to Wallace, who said Redding PD’s investigation is active and ongoing.


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Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.