-
May 13, 2008 4:59 am US/Pacific
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Shootout At Soboba Reservation Under Investigation
SAN JACINTO, Calif.
Authorities are conducting an investigation into a running gun battle in which a man and a woman were killed in the second deadly deputy-involved shooting on the Soboba Indian Reservation since last week.
On Monday evening, Riverside County sheriff's deputies received reports of a shooting around 6:30 p.m. at a security kiosk inside the reservation's entrance, less than a quarter of a mile south of the Soboba Casino, according to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez.
Some gunshots struck the guard's kiosk, but the guard was not injured, Gutierrez said.
When deputies arrived, they found themselves under fire from at least two people -- a man and a woman -- who also shot about six rounds toward a sheriff's helicopter without striking it, Gutierrez said.
The pair fled in into the hills just east of the casino via the Idyllwild National Forest (74) Highway, KCAL 9 reported.
A second gun battle ensued after the sheriff's SWAT team arrived at the scene. Both suspects were killed by team members, Gutierrez told the Press-Enterprise. He added that nine deputies and SWAT team members were involved in the two shootouts, which spanned more than an hour.
The suspects' names have not been released.
This is the second deputy-involved shooting on the reservation since last week. On May 8, deputies exchanged fire with three gunmen near an isolated section east of San Jacinto. One suspect, Eli Morillo, 26, of San Jacinto, was fatally shot near Soboba Road and Castile Canyon. No deputies were injured in the shooting, which remains under investigation by the sheriff's Central Homicide Unit.
It is currently unclear what the couple that was fatally shot on Monday had been seeking on the reservation, and it still unclear if the two shootings were connected.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)