RIVERSIDE: Man killed by UCR PD was armed with multiple weapons

RIVERSIDE — A man officials say was discharging a weapon while carrying “two firearms and an improvised firearm” was fatally shot by UCR campus police officers early Sunday morning, July 22.

According to officials, the man had been discharging a firearm in the area of the 600 block of West Blaine Street. The neighborhood where the gunshots were heard is just north of the University of California, Riverside campus. He was later shot off campus, on the 3100 block of Watkins Drive, about a half mile north of where he had been reportedly firing his weapons.

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Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials later identified Juan Garcia, 38, as the man who died after being shot by officers. A coroner’s release indicated Garcia died the afternoon after the shooting at 2:23 p.m.

Riverside police officers responded to the scene around 12:55, after City of Riverside’s Public Safety Dispatch Center received multiple calls reporting “shots heard,” Riverside Police Officer Ryan J. Railsback explained as the shooting investigation was getting underway.

“At the same time, a student worker with the university heard gunshots and reported it to the UCR Police Department’s Dispatch Center,” said Railsback.

When UCR officers arrived in the area where the gunshots had been reported they spotted a lone man, later identified as Garcia, walking away from the area, northbound on Watkins Drive.

As officers attempted to contact and question Garcia on the property of the Highlander Park Apartment Homes he produced a firearm and an officer-involved shooting occurred, according to Railsback.

When Riverside PD officers arrived they helped take Garcia into custody and he was eventually transported to Riverside Community Hospital in “very critical condition,” where he later died.

Based on the circumstances, Riverside PD’s Robbery – Homicide Unit responded to the scene and assumed the investigation. They were assisted by specialists with the department’s Forensics Unit, Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, and Riverside County Sheriff–Coroner’s Office.

Officials have not specified if there was a known motive for Garcia firing his weapons or what types of firearms the man was carrying.

Riverside police detectives are working in conjunction with the UCR Police Department in this investigation, which is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Karla Corbett at (951) 353-7134 or by email, or Detective Rick Cobb at (951) 353-7135 or by email.

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John Strangis/EN Media photos

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta 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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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.