A Sunday morning deputy involved shooting in Thousand Palms sends one man to the hospital and one Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy on administrative leave.
The shooting happened just after eight in the morning on Varner Road near the Palm Springs R.V. Resort, west of Washington Street, prompting that section of the road to close during the investigation.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Sergeant Chris Willison said the deputy was patrolling the area when he approached a 38-year-old homeless man in a nearby encampment. It is not clear at this point what prompted the deputy to approach the man, but through questioning, the deputy found the man was wanted with a warrant for his arrest.
Willison said the deputy then attempted to make an arrest, but the man produced an undisclosed deadly weapon and the deputy opened fire.
“As to exactly how many rounds, that is still in the infancy stages,” Willison said. “The scene is still being processed and the rounds are still being accounted for, so the exact number is unknown at this time.”
The central homicide unit is conducting the investigation, and they said the morning incident is isolated and there was no immediate danger to the guests staying at the nearby R.V. resort.
Willison said the man is recovering at a local hospital, while the deputy was not harmed and was placed on administrative leave by department policy.
