Southern Idaho Officers Shoot and Kill a Man After He Reportedly Pulled a Gun

An incident that appeared to have begun as a call to help ended with officers shooting a man in Southern Idaho after he allegedly pulled a gun on them.

Deputies were responding to a call about a driver who needed help with a disabled vehicle on the side of a Southern Idaho highway.

Idaho Deputies Attempting to Help a Man Ended Up Shooting and Killing Him

In news reports and a social media post from the Gooding County Prosecutor, details of the fatal event are shared.

The report says that around 1:30 PM on September 5th, deputies with the Gooding County Sheriff responded to a report of a vehicle that was high-centered on the side of US30 near Bliss, close to mile marker 172.

Deputies encountered the man and the vehicle. The report states:

When one of the deputies went to check the vehicle, the driver pulled out a firearm.

Both responding deputies fired their weapons at the man, who passed away at the scene. The incident is being investigated by a Critical Incident Task Force.

It appears to be unknown at this time why the man allegedly pulled a gun on the officers who were attempting to help him.

KMVT reported that the driver who was killed was 35-year-old Blake Curtis Saffran from Indiana.

READ MORE: UT Driver and WA Passenger Killed in Idaho Highway Accidents

Near the end of May, a driver from Utah was killed in an accident near Bliss on Interstate 84. The driver was driving a pickup truck and pulling a trailer when he crossed the center median and struck a semi-truck headed in the opposite direction.