Authorities say a white supremacist gang member was likely trying to get to a rifle in his car — or another of the eight firearms inside — when he died firing a handgun in a shootout with central California sheriff’s deputies.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson says Friday that 38-year-old Charles Michael Straub was killed in a shootout in Templeton, a town on California’s central coast.

A gang task force was working on a case against Straub for illegal gun manufacturing at the time of his death.

“Straub was a known member of a white supremacist gang and a criminal investigation had already been initiated by the Sheriff’s Gang Task Force when this incident occurred,” a sheriff’s news release stated.

Deputy Richard Lehnhoff is in stable condition after being struck by gunfire in the lower leg.