HEMET: Candlelight vigil planned for man shot, killed last Friday

Family members of a man killed in a double shooting last week are holding a candlelight vigil for their loved one tonight Nov. 10. The vigil is planned for 5:30 p.m. and will be held near where the young man was found after he was fatally shot, on W. Acacia Avenue between S. Gilbert Street and S. Palm Avenue.

The fatal incident happened when a group of friends were shot at by an unknown assailant. In addition to Daniel Ramirez, 25, of Hemet, who was found shot to death in a nearby aqueduct south of the location where the shooting occurred, a juvenile acquaintance of Ramirez’ was shot in the face. The 17-year-old victim survived his injuries and is recovering.

The suspect in the deadly shooting has not been identified and is not yet in custody.

Although Ramirez was fatally shot last Friday, Nov. 9, family members said they only just learned of Daniel Ramirez’ death.

“We just found out about his passing yesterday, we were all shocked,” Ramirez’ aunt, Eileen Valle said in a telephone interview. “Nobody had even contacted us. We only found out when a family member went to Hemet PD to ask about Daniel.”

Valle continued, “We thought something was wrong when we hadn’t heard from Daniel for a few days, but he is an adult and he has done that before; going away for a few days at a time.”

“By Sunday, we were starting to get worried and we began looking for him and asking around,” Valle continued. “Nobody had any idea where Daniel was. That was when we started getting calls from friends and family asking us if it was Daniel who had been killed in the shooting last Friday. But we didn’t think so because we thought someone would have contacted us.”

Valle said since finding out about Ramirez’ death her family has been bombarded with everything they has to do and trying to plan for a funeral for Ramirez.

“We have just been overwhelmed,” Valle said.

Ramirez’ family has set up a GoFundMe account to help Ramirez’ family prepare and plan for the young man’s funeral expenses.

“We are hoping many of Daniel’s friends and members of the community hear about this vigil in time and will be able to make it,” Valle explained. “It would mean a lot to us and it would mean a lot to Daniel’s memory.”

 

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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.