Doctor killed, son escapes Sierra wilderness shooter

A Danville doctor was shot and killed over the holiday weekend while offroading with his 15yearold son, who escaped the gunman and was rescued after spending more than a day lost in the remote Sierra County wilderness, according to police and a fundraising account established for the family.

Two other unnamed people were also shot by the gunman earlier in the day, according to the Sierra County Sheriff ’s Office. The unnamed gunman was arrested Saturday after leading deputies on a chase in his allterrain vehicle before he was taken into custody on Saddleback Road, about a mile north of Highway 49.

Ari Gershman, a 45yearold pulmonary doctor, was driving his new fourwheeldrive Jeep with his son when he was shot by a “random gunman” near Downieville, according to a GoFundMe page for the family . The boy called police after escaping and spent 30 hours alone in the Tahoe National Forest before a search party found him Saturday, the fundraising account and deputies said.

At about 4 p.m. Friday,

Sierra County deputies received a call that two people had been shot in a remote area of northwestern Sierra County. While responding, deputies learned that both victims were being taken out of the area by private vehicle and received initial medical treatment in CalIda, an unincorporated community in Sierra County. Both victims were taken to the hospital by helicopter with nonlifethreatening injuries, according to the Sheriff ’s Office.

Shortly after the pair were sent to the hospital, the Sheriff ’s Office got a call from the boy that his father was shot in the same area as the first shooting and he was lost after escaping, according to investigators and the fundraising account.

Deputies found Gershman dead and launched a search for his son, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

The GoFundMe page has raised more than $96,000.

Gershman left behind his wife, Paige, and two sons and a daughter. He was an avid bicyclist, vegetarian and outdoorsman.

He was “a devoted and loving father and fantastic friend that was willing to drop anything for his friends and family. He was witty and wise. He died doing what he loved with his son in an area he had hoped to retire in one day,” according to the fundraising page.