HEMET: No injuries reported after officer discharges weapon during arrest
UPDATE: March 30, 5:45 p.m. With video filmed from the scene. (See video below)
HEMET – A City of Hemet police officer fired his weapon while attempting to detain four subjects during an early morning disturbance call Thursday, March 30. The shooting, which occurred just after midnight, happened at the Sun Valley Estates mobile home park in the 1400 block of W. Florida Avenue in Hemet.
Officers responded to reports of a disturbance involving this silver sedan. John Strangis photo
Nobody was struck by the officer’s gunfire and there were no reported injuries related to the incident, Hemet Lieutenant Eddie Pust explained in a written press release after the shooting.
Two people believed to have been involved in the disturbance that led to the shooting were arrested and held for further investigation after the incident.
The incident began when Hemet police responded to reports of a verbal disturbance occurring at the mobile home park about 12:25 a.m., after 911 callers reported the disturbance and that a silver sedan was parked in the middle of street at the mobile home park.
When the first officer arrived at the location, the official, who has not been identified, spotted a silver Chrysler sedan vehicle occupied by four people. The car was parked in the middle of the street inside the mobile home park.
As the officer approached the vehicle, two subjects quickly exited the sedan and “fled east through the mobile home park,” Pust wrote.
The officer called for priority assistance and chased the two people on foot; however, he momentarily lost sight of them.
Officials scour the scene where the non-injury shooting happened. John Strangis photo
As other officers were converging on the location, the first officer continued searching for the two subjects who had fled.
“As the officer searched the area he located one subject hiding to the rear of a mobile home,” Pust explained. “As the officer attempted to take the subject into custody, an officer involved shooting occurred.”
Pust did not specify how many rounds the officer fired.
Assisting officers located the other person who fled hiding in a different, nearby mobile home park. Authorities apprehended the person after a resident called 911 to report that an unknown subject had broken into the residence.
Both subjects, who have not yet been publicly identified, were arrested for further investigation.
“Due to this being an active investigation, no further information will be released at this time,” according to Pust.
Anyone with further information regarding this incident or who witnessed the shooting is encouraged to contact Investigator Doug Klinzing at (951) 765-2432. Callers can remain anonymous.
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John Strangis video
This is a developing story. Additional information will be updated as it becomes available.
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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor 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 and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.