MORENO VALLEY: Deaf teen dies after shooting near Rancho Verde High School

Deputies, investigators, and other sheriff’s officials at the scene where a van crashed after a deadly shooting that occurred across the street from Rancho Verde High School after a football game. Photo courtesy of Loudlabs News

MORENO VALLEY – A deaf teenager with no known gang ties was fatally shot across the street from Rancho Verde High School just as a football game was ending at the school Friday, Sept. 16. The teenager, identified by family members as Desean Welch, 18, of Victorville, was a student at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside.

Welch’s family members and friends are calling the teen’s death a case of mistaken identity and “a senseless act of murder.” Welch reportedly excelled at playing basketball and had a scholarship to attend USC. He wanted to eventually play basketball in the NBA, according to his devastated mother.

Welch’s friend Lamar Francis was with Welch when the shooting occurred and witnessed the incident. Francis told NBC4 the two were confronted by an agitated man who kept asking if they knew someone in Ontario.

“This boy was talking. I told him that we are deaf,” Francis told NBC4.

Francis said the man was getting increasingly aggressive so Welch decided to use his cell phone to write a text so they could try to resolve the confusion.

According to Francis, the shooter suddenly “threw up a gang sign with his hand” and then began shooting at Welch.

Welch’s cousin, Daytoryi Love, created a GoFundMe account to help the family pay for the young man’s funeral expenses.

“He was a good kid…he didn’t mean any harm. All he wanted to do was play basketball,” Love wrote. “My family is taking this really hard so if you guys could please just help us donate, anything will help.”

The deadly shooting occurred while many students and families were leaving the high school stadium’s parking lot after a football game between Rancho Verde and Perris’ Citrus Hill High Schools, Val Verde Unified School District Security & Communications Technician Jonathan Moreno wrote in a press release from the school district.

Deputies assigned to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Moreno Valley Police Station were dispatched to reports of shots fired in the area of the school at about 9:56 p.m.

The shooting forced players and their families to shelter in place on the Rancho Verde campus as deputies responded to the shooting and searched for the suspect involved in the fatal incident.

“Students were quickly pushed back onto campus, where our team responded and placed spectators and families into secured areas until we received clearance from law enforcement personnel,” Moreno explained. “At this time, all information indicates that none of our students were involved in this event and no students were injured.”

Deputies later located evidence of the shooting at the intersection of Via De Anza x Camino San Simeon, where a physical altercation reportedly broke out just west of and directly across the street from the high school, according to officials.

The sheriff’s department did not immediately release how many people were involved in the argument and fight or if Welch was one of those involved in the dispute.

After the fight, the unidentified suspect shot Welch as he was sitting inside a white Dodge Caravan. After Welch was shot, the vehicle he was in sped away from the location. However, it crashed in the area of Lasselle Street and Iris Avenue, about two miles north of the shooting location.

At about the same time deputies were responding to the scene of the shooting, other deputies were flagged down by subjects from or around the van transporting Welch from the original shooting scene to the hospital, according to Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Walter Mendez.

It was not immediately known if Welch was the driver or a passenger in the van.

Welch was rushed to Riverside University Health System for further treatment. “Despite medical intervention the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased by hospital staff,” Mendez explained.

Investigators from the Moreno Valley Police Station and the Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit responded to the location and assumed the investigation.

“The suspect has been described as an African American male adult, approximately 20-years-old, with a medium build,” according to Mendez.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call Investigator Dan Moody of the Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit at (760) 393-3525. Callers can refer to incident file number MV162600458 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.