CORONA: Officials investigating officer’s accidental discharge of firearm

CORONA – A City of Corona police officer accidentally fired a round into an occupied vehicle, nearly striking an on-duty security guard Tuesday, Jan. 10. The early-morning incident happened at a construction site in the 2700 block of Palisades Drive in Corona.

The accidental discharge happened about 1:30 a.m., while Corona police officers were conducting an investigation into reports of a suspicious vehicle, according to Corona Police Department spokesman Sergeant Paul Mercado.

Officers responded to the location after a 911 caller told City of Riverside emergency dispatchers the vehicle was parked illegally in front of the construction site.

“As officers approached the vehicle to determine if it was occupied and assess the situation, an officer unintentionally discharged one round from his handgun,” Mercado explained.

The round fired by the officer “entered the front passenger side door and stopped inside the front passenger area of the vehicle,” according to Mercado.

Officers determined the vehicle was occupied by one adult male who was sitting in the driver’s seat. The man was not struck or injured in the shooting incident.

Officers learned the man was an on-duty private security guard, whose job it was to maintain security at the construction site. Officials interviewed the man and he was released at the scene.

Members of the Corona Police Department’s Detective Bureau responded to the location and assumed the investigation. They are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding what they classified as an “unintended discharge.”

“This investigation is active and ongoing,” Mercado said. “The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office was notified and is assisting with the investigation.”

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Sr. Detective Jesse Jurado at (951) 279-3628 or by email.

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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.