A 19-year-old man from Desert Hot Springs is facing several felony charges including hate crime and attempted murder, while a second suspect remains at large in connection to a shooting near a hotel on North Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs early Saturday morning.
A press release from the Palm Springs Police Department identifies the suspect in custody as Ricardo Gomez, police said he is affiliated to a gang and is connected to an unprovoked shooting near a hotel in Palm Springs on the 2000 block of North Palm Canyon Drive.
The address given by police matches the Ivy Palm Resort and Spa, however employees of the hotel or the PSPD were not able to confirm the exact location of the shooting.
The report said the incident happened after 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, and it involved a family who had just arrived from out of town when a suspect described as “Hispanic male” opened fire several times at a black man, his wife and 16-year-old son.
Investigators believe the incident was racially motivated based on alleged statements made by the suspects towards the victims before opening fire.
Shortly after police went on a search for the suspects. An online community thread by local residents mentions that a helicopter roamed the neighborhood for over an hour, that is when police found Gomez who matched the description given by the victims. Officers also found two loaded guns near Gomez, but no trace of the second suspect.
A witness tells police two men were seen exposing a gun near the area before the time of the shooting, but police said they continue to investigate if whether the incidents are related.
No one was hurt as a result of the shooting, and police have not released a description for the second suspect but they ask the community to contact Detective Mario Kasal at 760-323-8136 or email mariokasal@palmspringsca.gov with any information related to this crime.
