A 29-year-old Milpitas man will be arraigned on a murder charge on Thursday in Alameda County after Fremont police alleged he shot and killed a co-worker at the Tesla factory.
The Fremont Police Department arrested Anthony Solima in Milpitas on a homicide warrant on Monday night, officials said in a release on Tuesday. Solima was booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin at 4:15 a.m. on Tuesday, according to county records.
Fremont police said homicide detectives learned Solima worked alongside the victim, a man who was found dead Monday in the Tesla parking lot after sustaining at least one gunshot wound. The pair argued "earlier in the day," detectives said they were told, and the victim was "shot in the parking lot as he left" after finishing his shift on Monday.
Tesla has not yet responded to KCBS Radio's request for comment confirming that Solima and the victim worked at the factory. The automaker didn't respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment on Monday night after police said they were investigating a "suspicious death" in the plant's parking lot.
Neither Tesla nor CEO and founder Elon Musk has publicly commented on the shooting. Tesla hasn't tweeted since Dec. 6, while Musk has announced people can purchase Tesla merchandise with the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin and criticized U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren in a series of tweets in the day since Fremont police first announced they were investigating a suspicious death.
Fremont police said detectives learned Solima "suddenly walked off the job" on Monday. They obtained arrest and search warrants for Solima's home and car at 11:16 p.m., and they arrested him in Milpitas after he exited his car 45 minutes later, according to Alameda County Sheriff's Office records.
Police said they "maintained constant surveillance" on him in the city from 8:42 p.m. onward. After getting out of his car, police said Solima "immediately surrendered."
Investigators found "several expended .223 rifle casings" near the crime scene on Monday afternoon, police said. Solima had a .223 rifle in his car when he was arrested on Monday night, according to police. The rifle had no serial number, and an expended casing was also found in the vehicle.
Fremont police didn't specify whether the casings found in Solima's car matched those they recovered in the Tesla factory parking lot. Police also didn't say whether the casings were expended from the rifle found in Solima's car.
The Fremont Police Department has not yet responded to KCBS Radio's request for comment and clarification, and we will update this story when we hear back.
Solima's arraignment hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, based on sheriff's office records.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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