The Brandon Call shooting happened on September 3, 1996, when the Step by Step actor, then 19, was shot six times in both arms during a road rage confrontation on the streets of Los Angeles. He survived. The gunman, Tommy Eugene Lewis, was convicted of attempted premeditated murder and is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Call finished out the series and left acting.
What Happened on Venice Boulevard
Call was driving his Honda Civic home to Redondo Beach after a day of filming in Burbank when he noticed an older blue Datsun 280Z tailgating him on Venice Boulevard, at times within six to eight inches of his bumper.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis He shouted at the driver. The Datsun kept coming. Call tried to shake it by cutting onto side streets and ended up on Olin Street, which dead-ended in a cul-de-sac.
When he turned around, the Datsun was stopped in the middle of the road, blocking him. Call tried to squeeze past on the left. As the two passenger windows drew even, the driver leaned across a female passenger and fired through the open window, hitting Call six times in both arms.2People. Christine Lakin Talks Brandon Call Drive-By Shooting He drove himself to the Culver City police station, arriving about 15 minutes later around 6:00 p.m., and collapsed on the steps before being taken to the UCLA Medical Center.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis He was released roughly 18 hours later.3Orlando Sentinel. Actor Brandon Call, 19, Injured in Gunshot Barrage
How Police Found the Shooter
Culver City detectives initially described the attack as “apparently random.”3Orlando Sentinel. Actor Brandon Call, 19, Injured in Gunshot Barrage On September 26, 1996, patrol officers near Venice Boulevard spotted a 1980s blue Datsun 280Z with a slightly wobbly left front wheel, matching Call’s description. They followed the driver, questioned him when he parked, and identified him as Tommy Eugene Lewis, also 19. Lewis was cited for driving without a license and the car was impounded. Call picked Lewis out of a photographic lineup, then a live lineup, and identified him again at the preliminary hearing and at trial.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis
Conviction and Sentence
Prosecutors charged Lewis with attempted willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder and with shooting into an occupied motor vehicle, along with special allegations for personally inflicting great bodily injury, discharging a firearm, and a prior juvenile adjudication for robbery.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis He pleaded not guilty.
The jury trial began on September 26, 1997, in the Superior Court of California. On October 7, 1997, jurors found Lewis guilty on both counts and found every special allegation true. The court separately found the prior juvenile robbery adjudication true. On November 14, 1997, Lewis was sentenced to 41 years to life.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis
The Appeal That Reduced the Sentence
Lewis appealed, arguing that the trial court should not have treated his juvenile robbery adjudication as a strike under California’s Three Strikes law. On June 7, 1999, the California Court of Appeal, Second District, agreed and reversed the sentence, holding that the juvenile adjudication did not meet the statutory requirements to qualify as a strike.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis
On remand, the trial court was directed to impose life with the possibility of parole for the attempted murder, plus 10 years for the firearm enhancement and 3 years for the great bodily injury enhancement. The shooting-into-an-occupied-vehicle count carried 7 years plus a 10-year firearm enhancement, with punishment on that count stayed.1Findlaw. People v. Lewis The total came down from 41 years to life, but Lewis remained under a life sentence.
What Happened to Brandon Call After the Shooting
Call had been filming an episode of Step by Step the day he was shot. He finished out the series, which ended after its seventh season, and then stepped away from acting entirely. His co-star Christine Lakin, who played his stepsister on the show, later told People, “That will change you as a person, a traumatic event like that. I feel like he just really had no interest in being in the spotlight anymore.”2People. Christine Lakin Talks Brandon Call Drive-By Shooting
He stayed out of public view for close to three decades. In March 2024, Call appeared at 90s Con in Connecticut for a Step by Step reunion panel. Now 47, he told attendees he had “ventured off into some investments and businesses” and was working in real estate.4People. Step by Step Cast: Where Are They Now