California Parole Agent Fatally Shot in His Oakland Office: 'This is a Heartbreaking Loss'

By Jordan Parker and Jerry Wu

Source San Francisco Chronicle

A state parole agent was fatally shot in Oakland as he worked in his office Thursday afternoon, and a suspect is in custody.

The agent, identified as Joshua Lemont Byrd, 40, in a news release by Gov. Gavin Newsom, was shot inside the Division of Adult Parole Operations office around 12:50 p.m., state officials said. After the shooting, the suspect, identified as Bryan Keith Hall, 48, of Oakland, fled the scene and was detained by Oakland police officers near the intersection of 90th Avenue and International Boulevard, the California Highway Patrol said.

"This is a heartbreaking loss. Agent Byrd served with integrity and courage — and we're forever grateful," Newsom and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis said in a statement. "We are keeping his family in our prayers and we join the men and women of CDCR in mourning this tragedy."

Byrd's death marks the first California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officer lost in the line of duty since 2018, officials said. Byrd joined the CDCR as a cadet at the agency's correctional officer academy in June 2014, officials said. He joined the Oakland adult parole office as a parole agent in October 2024, after stints as a correctional officer and correctional sergeant, officials said.

Oakland police received a 911 call at 12:48 p.m. reporting the shooting at 7717 Edgewater Drive, the location of a CDCR office, the CHP said in a statement. Officers responded to the scene and determined an employee had been shot at the office, according to the CHP.

Byrd was transported to Highland Hospital, where he died.

On Thursday evening, law enforcement officers from the Oakland Police Department, Alameda County Sheriff's Office, CHP and state patrol lined up outside Highland Hospital as Byrd's body, covered in an American flag, was carried out of the hospital and placed into an Alameda County coroner's vehicle. As the solemn scene played out, people in hospital rooms floors above the street stood at their windows looking down.

Byrd leaves behind a wife and children, the governor's statement said.

A fundraiser in support of Byrd's family launched Thursday evening had raised more than $38,000. "Byrd was a great guy and officer," Hugh Soloman, a friend of Byrd's, wrote on the fundraiser's page. "He was very dependable and cared for all."

The motive and circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately known.

"We do not believe there is any ongoing danger to the public," the CHP said in a statement.

Newsom's office said flags at the state Capitol and Capitol Annex Swing Space would be flown at half-staff in Byrd's honor.

________________

Visit www.sfchronicle.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.