Chico CA Aug 23 2017 After a 34-year-old Ventura man was fatally shot last month by a security guard and police officer in downtown Chico, the man’s parents have undertaken efforts to piece together their son’s last days.

Paula and Scott Rushing of Ventura say they believe their son, Tyler Rushing, was in Chico for several days before dying in a violent episode the night of July 23 at Mid Valley Title and Escrow Company in the 600 block of Main Street.

Authorities have said Tyler Rushing stabbed in the arm a private armed security guard who responded to an alarm at the business about 10:45 p.m. on a Sunday.

The guard shot Rushing once with his firearm, and Rushing, wounded, ran inside the business and holed himself up in a restroom, where Chico police officers tried to get him to come out for an estimated 20-30 minutes, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey has said.

Officers, working on information that Rushing had been shot and could possibly die from his wound, ultimately entered the restroom with a police dog and confronted him, Ramsey has said. Rushing allegedly stabbed two officers during a struggle, and one of the hurt officers fired two shots at Rushing, striking him twice.

The Rushings said they were told that their son was also hit with a Taser after he was shot by the officer in an apparent attempt to confirm he was subdued.

Rushing died at the scene.

An investigation into the shooting by the Butte County Officer Involved Shooting/Critical Incident Protocol Team remains ongoing.

Ramsey has said it’s suspected Rushing was under the influence of something at the time, but toxicology results have not returned.

Rushing’s parents in a recent interview said their son did not have a criminal background and was not a violent, drug-addicted person.

The Rushings said Tyler was well-mannered, ran a professional window cleaning business and had a condo in Ventura. He worked as a crew member at music festivals up and down the state and also practiced photography.

“He was a very pleasant young man,” Scott Rushing, 64, said. “Very nonviolent. That was his mantra.”

Since their son’s death, the Rushings have tried to learn about Tyler’s movements while he was in Chico. The parents are distributing fliers and taking out advertisements seeking answers.

They said they are highly skeptical of information released by authorities about the violent episode at the downtown business. They also are not convinced lethal force was necessary.

“The fact that you had to kill him, that’s ridiculous,” Scott Rushing said. “Where are the hostages? Where are the children? What’s the danger involved? It’s a commercial building. Staplers, office supplies. Who cares? Wait until he passes out (in the restroom).”

Since the shooting, investigators have not released information about why they believe Tyler was in Chico the day he was killed or how he got to the city.

But Tyler’s parents shed some light on the subject.

They said Tyler worked the Northern Nights Music Festival that was held July 14-16 in Piercy, south of Eureka. On or about July 16, Tyler’s backpack was stolen, along with his money, keys, identification, iPhone and valuable camera.

Tyler’s truck, his father said, was towed from Piercy to Eureka.

Scott Rushing said his son then “basically hitchhiked from Piercy to Chico, where he had friends and he felt comfortable.”

Tyler’s mother, Paula Rushing, 63, graduated from Chico State University. She said her son’s grandparents lived in Paradise for years.

Scott Rushing said he also thinks his son chose to travel to Chico to research a photography project. One of Tyler’s visions as a photographer, he said, was to document the plight of homeless people.

The Rushings said the believe Tyler was in Chico from July 20 to July 23, the Sunday he died.

That Sunday morning, they said, Tyler attended services at Bidwell Presbyterian Church. A churchgoer there called the Rushings around the early afternoon hours the same day, saying Tyler had asked to call his parents to let them know he was OK.

What Tyler did after church in the hours before the episode Sunday night at the downtown title company remains unknown to the Rushings.

“We really would like to piece together the timeline,” Scott Rushing said. “We will get a timeline, let’s say, from the police department. Maybe the security company. They’ll have their timeline and what their guy called in after shooting Tyler. I’m very skeptical. Highly skeptical of anything I’m going to receive from the authorities.”

Recent attempts by this newspaper to gather more details from the district attorney about Rushing’s fatal encounter with security and police have been unsuccessful. Ramsey has declined to release additional details about the incident but has said body cameras worn by the security guard and police officers captured the episode.

The Rushings said that footage has not been shared with them.

Tyler’s parents said they want the public to know their son had a family that cared for him.

“He was not estranged from us in any way,” Scott Rushing said. “Had he been estranged from us, this would be easier to take. But before he left for Piercy he stopped by the house and, fortunately, the last words he said to me (were) … Love you, dad. I said, Love you, too.

“So at least I have that memory. That was the last thing I said.”

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