Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Investigates Shooting of Suspect

(CNS) – Authorities Monday were continuing to investigate a law-enforcement shooting that left a murder suspect injured in Sky Valley.

Oscar Ernesto Canas, 42, was identified Friday as a suspect in a fatal shooting that occurred earlier that day in Desert Hot Springs, according to Detective Sgt. Christopher Saucier from the Desert Hot Springs Police Department.

Saucier said Canas was located around 12:10 p.m. Friday in Sky Valley, where members of a Gang Task Force attempted to take him into custody. It was unclear what occurred during that confrontation, but Saucier said at least one shot was fired, and Canas was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

It was also unclear if he was hit by gunfire or injured in some other way. There was no word on how many shots were fired, or what prompted the gunfire.

Amy McKenzie with the Riverside County District Attorney’s office told City News Service the shooting involved a D.A. investigator from the Riverside County Gang Impact Team, led by the D.A.’s Bureau of Investigation. She added that a firearm was recovered at the scene.

No other information was immediately available. There were no reports of any injuries to officers.

Canas was treated for minor injuries and was later booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he was being held without bail.

Canas was wanted in connection with a shooting that occurred around 7:40 a.m. Friday in the 13500 block of Mountain View Road in Desert Hot Springs, where an unidentified man was found suffering from a gunshot wound, Saucier said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

It wasn’t immediately known what prompted that shooting.

Anyone with information on the Sky Valley shooting involve the gang task force was asked to call Master Investigator Nelson Gomez from the sheriff’s Force Investigations Detail Task Force at 951-955-2777.

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