Hemet officers respond to report of man with a gun at Weston Park

Within minutes of the dispatched call, Thompson Street was flooded with Hemet Police officers. Gary Rainwater photo

 

HEMET – The report of a man armed with a gun at Weston Park brought an immediate and overwhelming response from Hemet Police officers Monday, Aug. 8. Weston Park is located at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Thompson Street in Hemet.

The incident began after someone called 911 to report seeing multiple subjects fighting near the middle of the park.

During the fight, one subject, who was described as a black male adult with a large afro, was reportedly seen with a handgun. The fight was reported to City of Hemet Communications Center dispatchers at 5:23 p.m.

The first two responding officers arrived less than 60 seconds after the call was dispatched. Two more officers arrived about 30 seconds later.

The first arriving officers spotted a group of people walking away from the park towards the Rodeo Taco Shop located directly across the street from the park.

One of the people in the group matched the description provided by the 911 caller as the man who had been seen with the handgun.

The first four officers converged on the group with their guns drawn as at least a half-dozen more officers flooded into the area. Within three minutes of the call being dispatched, Thompson Street and the surrounding area was filled with police vehicles.

Several additional responding officers shut down all east and westbound traffic on Florida Avenue to ensure the safety of passing motorists during the investigation.

All of the detained subjects, including the subject who had reportedly been seen with the gun, were temporarily detained while officers searched the subjects for the reported weapon.

At 5:35 p.m., just 12 minutes after the call was initially dispatched, the subjects had all been checked for weapons. However, no handgun was located.

Florida Avenue was reopened to through traffic at 5:38 p.m., exactly 15 minutes after the incident began.

Officers searched a car owned by one of the subjects who was detained, but nothing illegal was located inside the vehicle.

Because no weapon was found and nobody who witnessed the reported fight or handgun had stayed to speak with officers, once officers conducted warrant checks on the subjects that had been detained they were allowed to leave without any further action being taken.

 

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