Palm Desert victim, 47, ID’d after fatally shot while taking late-night walk

PALM DESERT, Calif., — A murder investigation is continuing after a man’s lifeless body was discovered in a Palm Desert residential neighborhood Thursday evening, November 11. The murder, which happened when the victim was reportedly taking a late-night walk, occurred in the 43000 block of Tennessee Avenue, northeast of California and Fred Waring drives.

The discovery was made after gunfire erupted within the neighborhood, leading multiple area residents to call 911 and report what one area resident later described as a “hail of gunfire”.

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Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station deputies were dispatched to the scene at 10:21 p.m. after receiving multiple reports of gunfire heard in the area, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Ed Baeza has since reported.

Responding deputies soon located a deceased male lying in the street, according to Baeza; who, in an initial statement, said the victim suffered “trauma to his body consistent with a homicide.”

The victim has since been identified as Edward V. Snyder, a 47-year-old, Palm Desert resident. It was not immediately clear if he lived on the street or within the neighborhood where he was gunned down.

Deputies secured the scene and requested Central Homicide Unit investigators to the scene to assume the investigation. Throughout the evening and into the next morning, officials were seen interviewing potential witnesses and checking surrounding homes for surveillance cameras that may have captured all or part of the deadly incident, or any vehicles coming into or leaving the neighborhood around the time of the shooting.

Joseph Morton, who resides less than a block from where the deadly shooting occurred, later told RCNS he awoke to the sound of gunfire, which was so close he initially believed the shooting happened in his own backyard.

“It sounded like a hail of bullets and both my wife and I thought (the gunfire) was happening right outside our back window,” he described; adding that the couple immediately rolled out of bed and crawled into the bathroom and locked the door.

Another area resident, Dave Marshall, later told KESQ3 News he heard eight rounds fired in fast succession and that he later came outside and could see the victim’s body in the nearby roadway.

“That’s a lot of gunfire,” he described; adding, “Sounds like someone wanted to make sure they took somebody out.”

SEE ALSO: Desert Hot Springs teens, both convicted felons, arrested after Palm Springs traffic stop

Sheriff’s officials have not yet named a suspect in the shooting and have not speculated as to what may have led to the fatal shooting.

Their investigation is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call Investigator Chua of the Palm Desert Sheriff Station at (760) 836-1600 or Investigator Vasquez with the Central Homicide Unit at (951) 955-2777. Callers can refer to incident file number T213150105 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s Homicide Tipline online form.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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.