A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was in serious condition after being shot near Lake Elsinore on Friday afternoon, Jan. 13, and the department said.
The deputy was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where yellow crime scene tape was strung up.
The suspect was in custody, the department said. Sheriff Chad Bianco told the Southern California News Group that the suspect was still alive.
The shooting happened just after 4:30 p.m.
A deputy has been shot in #lakeelsinore. Suspect is in custody. Deputy is being transported to local hospital. More details to follow. https://t.co/OyFV5nnYVm
— Riverside County Sheriff (@RSO) January 14, 2023
There was a large law enforcement presence where the deputy was shot in the 18500 block of Hilldale Lane, a development with single-family homes in the unincorporated community of Lakeland Village.
No other details were available.
As night fell, hundreds of cars were being diverted from the area of Grand Avenue and Gregory Place.
Cesar Leyva, 43, was driving home from work when he was detoured by police officers and flashing red and blue lights just outside Lakeland Village Middle School on Grand Avenue.
Leyva, who lives several houses away from where the shots were fired, said he was shocked to hear of another Riverside County deputy being gunned down following the slaying of Isaiah Cordero on Dec. 29.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Leyva said.
The shooting happened one week after a memorial service for Cordero, who was killed during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley. Cordero was the department’s first deputy to die in the line of duty from an assault since 2003.
The person believed responsible for killing Cordero, William Shae McKay, died in a gun battle with law enforcement in Norco. McKay was out on bail awaiting sentencing after a false imprisonment case. The three-strike felon had a warrant out for his arrest after failing to appear at a sentencing hearing.
