A 34-year-old California man was apprehended Friday night in South Lake Tahoe after he allegedly fired a .45-caliber pistol into a moving vehicle near Gardnerville in an apparent road-rage confrontation.
Ken Ward Lam of Chino is being held in the Douglas County jail for investigation of felony attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, with bail set at $250,000.
"This appears to be some sort of road rage incident that followed minor traffic stuff," Douglas County Sheriff's investigator Keith Logan said Saturday. "He passed a vehicle and slowed way down. When they tried to pass him, he fired one round into their vehicle, narrowly missing three occupants."
No one was injured after the slug passed through a front fender, Logan said. "But they were traveling at speed, so just a few seconds or miles per hour difference could have really injured someone," Logan said.
The shooting happened about 10 p.m. on Highway 395 south of Gardnerville, near the Corley Ranch and Riverview Drive. Logan said the two vehicles were traveling about 55 mph in a 65-mph zone.
"Thanks to some good work by our patrol officers, the suspect was apprehended at Tahoe about 11 p.m.," Logan said. A .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun was recovered from Lam's vehicle.
The passengers in the other vehicle were from Topaz Lake and Coleville, Calif.
Lam will be arraigned in justice court early this week, Logan said.