The former NASCAR driver Robert East, known as Bobby, was fatally stabbed on Wednesday in Westminster, Calif., the authorities said, and the suspect in the stabbing was killed on Friday in “an officer-involved shooting.”
According to a statement from the Westminster Police Department on Saturday, officers responded just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday to a stabbing at a gas station in Westminster, a city in Orange County about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
The officers found Mr. East “suffering from a stab wound to the chest,” the authorities said. They rendered first aid until paramedics arrived and transferred him to the University of California, Irvine Medical Center, they said, adding that Mr. East later died from his injuries. He was 38, they said.
The police had named Trent William Milsap, 28, from Anaheim, Calif., as the suspect in the stabbing. Mr. Milsap was on parole for armed robbery at the time, they said, and had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in an unrelated parole violation. His motive was unclear, the police said.
Mr. East was a resident of San Dimas, 30 miles east of Los Angeles. He began racing at the age of 9, and went on to win three United States Auto Club national championships and race for NASCAR.
In a statement, NASCAR said it was “saddened to learn of the tragic death of Bobby East.”
“We extend our deepest and heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Bobby, a true racer,” it added.
Ford Performance, which provides some of the vehicles for NASCAR, also offered its condolences to Mr. East’s family, friends and supporters. “We join the rest of the racing community in mourning the loss of Bobby East this week,” the company said in a statement on Twitter.
The authorities said that on Friday, they located Mr. Milsap at an apartment in Anaheim, Calif., and dispatched a SWAT team to serve an arrest warrant “due to the level of violence he had been exhibiting.”
A police dog was deployed after Mr. Milsap “became confrontational with officers,” the statement from the police said. A shooting occurred, the police said, and Mr. Milsap was transported to the medical center, where he died from his injuries.
The police dog also sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound and was transported to a veterinary hospital for treatment, the police said.
The Westminster Police Department said that it was investigating the shooting with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice. An inquiry into Mr. East’s stabbing death was also underway.