Investigating unrelated shooting, officer attacked, stabbed
RIALTO, Calif. — City of Rialto police officers who were investigating reports of a shooting at a Rialto gas station suddenly found themselves under attack when a man unrelated to the initial shooting approached and then attacked an officer with a knife as he sat in his patrol vehicle early Friday morning, Nov. 6.
Dramatic video footage, obtained from the gas station as well as the officers’ body-worn cameras, showed two other officers working at the scene running to the aid of the officer being attacked. The videos also showed the suspect repeatedly lunging at officers with his knife, before one of the involved officers opened fire, ultimately killing the suspect.
Two officers were hospitalized after the violent and unprovoked attack, including one who was stabbed in the abdomen and remains hospitalized. He is expected to survive his injuries.
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Friday’s deadly incident began around 6:21 a.m., when officers responded to USA Gasoline at 280 E. Foothill Boulevard to investigate a shooting, Rialto Chief of Police Mark Kling has since reported.
At around 8 a.m., as their investigation was continuing and officers were processing the scene for evidence related to the initially reported shooting, a man, later identified as 26-year-old, David Viveros, of San Bernardino, can be seen on gas station security camera footage walking past the gas station. (See video footage below.)
A series of images, captured both from security camera footage as well as officers’ body-worn cameras, shows David Viveros, 26, of San Bernardino, attacking a Rialto PD officer with a knife; followed by images of the ensuing fight that led to his fatal shooting moments later. Rialto PD images
The footage then showed Viveros walk around the rear of a patrol SUV before he suddenly and unexpectedly approached an officer who had been sitting inside the vehicle.
Seeing the man approaching, the officer began to exit his vehicle, at which time Viveros lunged at the officer with a knife in his hand.
During the ensuing violent struggle, Viveros can be seen stabbing the officer with the knife, as the officer continues to fight for his life.
Seeing the attack, two other officers at the scene ran to the initial officer’s aid, engaging the knife-wielding suspect.
During the ensuing melee, officers twice deployed their Tasers in an attempt to stop Viveros’ attack; however the Taser deployments proved ineffective, according to Kling.
At one point as the attack continued, Viveros was knocked to the ground and dropped his knife. However, he immediately retrieved his weapon, stood up, and again began lunging at officers with the deadly weapon; at which time one of the officers fired at least four rounds at him.
Body camera footage filmed by the officer who was stabbed in the abdomen shows the initial moments after another officer fatally shot the officer’s attacker. In video shared by Rialto PD the stunned and injured officer can be heard asking another officer, “Dude, did he get me?” When the other officer asks if he is OK, the stabbed officer replies, “I don’t know. It just hurts.”
Struck by one or more of the discharged rounds, Viveros once again fell to the ground where, despite life-saving efforts by the very officers he had just attacked, he died at the scene.
Based on their investigation, officers determined that Viveros appeared to have no connection to the initial shooting investigation, according to Kling.
Two officers injured during the attack, including the officer stabbed in the abdomen, were transported to a local hospital; where one officer remains and is continuing to recover from his stab wound.
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In a Critical Incident video release shared to social media, Kling said, “This attack on our officers today is just one of many that is occurring all too often.”
“It is my hope that this incident will bring awareness to you so that you’ll understand the dangers that law enforcement officer face every day in their attempts to protect you,” Kling continued.
Both the initial shooting as well as Viveros’ unprovoked attack on the investigating officers remain under investigation.
Anyone with information related to either incident is urged to contact Sergeant James Mills at (909) 421-7225.
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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and 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.
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 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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