Hemet family headed to Disneyland shot at during road rage incident, Perris woman arrested

A woman who officials allege fired a handgun at a family of seven headed to Disneyland was later located and arrested more than twenty miles from where the shooting happened. The violent encounter occurred in an unincorporated area on Highway 79, also known as Lamb Canyon, between the cities of San Jacinto and Beaumont.

California Highway Patrol officers began investigating the road rage-related shooting Thursday morning, Jan. 18, after the family – consisting of a husband, wife and five girls – reported the shooting.

None of the family members were struck in the shooting, according to CHP Officer Darren Meyer. It was not immediately clear if the family’s SUV was hit by gunfire, but their SUV and the alleged suspect’s car were both later seized as evidence.

The incident began when a Hemet man – who was driving northbound on Highway 79 with his family – got into some sort of argument or altercation with a woman just north of Gilman Springs Road, according to Meyer. During the incident the woman, who Meyer only identified as a Perris resident, first brandished a handgun at the family and then fired at least one round at the family’s SUV.

Meyer did not specify the nature of the argument, what led to it, or how it began.

According to one of the victims, who declined to be identified, after calling 911 to report the shooting her family was directed to meet with CHP officers at an Arco AM/PM at the intersection of Highway 79 and 1st Street in Beaumont.

Once there, officers interviewed the family and checked their dark-colored, Nissan SUV for shooting damage. The shaken family was able to provide investigating officers with the woman’s vehicle description as well as license plate number.

A short time later, CHP officers spotted the alleged suspect’s vehicle travelling westbound on the 60 freeway, near Day Street in Moreno Valley, according to Meyer. Officials conducted an investigatory traffic stop, at which time they located and seized a handgun.

Officials also later located and recovered an expended shell casing in the area where the shooting happened.

An online jail records search yielded no further information about the alleged suspect’s arrest.

CHP’s investigation is active and ongoing and officials have asked that anyone with information about the incident or who witnessed the shooting to contact CHP’s San Gorgonio Pass Area Station at (951) 769-2000. Callers can remain anonymous.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries 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.