A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot Thursday afternoon throughout a site visitors cease in Jurupa Valley, sparking a high-speed chase throughout a number of freeways that ended with deputies killing the gunman in a shootout.
The shooter was a violent felon who ought to have been incarcerated after violating California’s “three strikes” regulation however was launched on bail, Sheriff Chad Bianco mentioned at a news convention Thursday night time.
Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, was conducting a site visitors cease simply earlier than 2 p.m. close to the 3900 block of Golden West Avenue when the suspect pulled out a gun and shot him as he approached the automobile, Bianco mentioned.
As a witness known as 911, the gunman drove off, drawing a sweeping manhunt that spanned two counties.
Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, was fatally shot throughout a site visitors cease in Jurupa Valley on Thursday afternoon.
(Riverside County Sheriff’s Department)
Spotted in San Bernardino County, the gunman fled again to Jurupa Valley, the place his truck ran over a spike strip on the 60 Freeway however continued driving. As many as 30 police autos adopted the gunman’s truck south on Interstate 15 to Norco.
By the time the gunman reached the sixth Street exit of the 15 in Norco, the automobile was smoking, its tires had been stripped away, and an axle had given method, rendering it disabled.
The stage was set for a last confrontation that resulted in a hail of bullets.
The gunman shot on the deputies pursuing him, prompting them to return fireplace and kill him, Bianco mentioned. More than 10 officers opened fireplace within the gun battle, in accordance to sources accustomed to the investigation.
The pickup truck pushed by the gunman was rammed and pinned by a SWAT armored automobile on the aspect of the 15. TV protection confirmed a number of gunshot holes within the windshield.
Bianco recognized the gunman as William Shea McKay, 44, who most just lately lived in San Bernardino County.
It was not instantly clear why Cordero had pulled over McKay, the sheriff mentioned. Investigators will evaluation footage from the deputy’s physique digicam.
The southbound 15 was shut down due to giant numbers of police autos on the freeway the place the pursuit ended.
The deputy was pronounced useless at Riverside Community Hospital after he was taken there from the shooting scene, a regulation enforcement supply informed The Times.
Bianco laid blame for Cordero’s dying on failures of the prison justice system.
McKay’s prison historical past dated to the Nineteen Nineties and included kidnapping, theft and a number of assaults with lethal weapons, Bianco mentioned. In one case, McKay stabbed a California Highway Patrol canine.
“This terrible tragedy should have been prevented by the legal system,” Bianco mentioned. “McKay has an extensive, violent past and was convicted of his third strike in November of 2021.”
Deputies embrace exterior Riverside Community Hospital after one of their fellow lawmen was shot and killed throughout a site visitors cease.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
That case concerned kidnapping and assault with a lethal weapon, the sheriff mentioned.
“Instead of sentencing him to 25 years to life, which should have happened, the judge lowered his bail, allowing him to be released,” Bianco mentioned.
The sheriff declined to identify the decide.
McKay was arrested once more for failing to seem at his sentencing “and additional criminal charges,” however he was launched by the identical decide, Bianco mentioned.
The union that represents the division’s deputies mentioned in an announcement Thursday night time that Cordero was “a ray of sunshine” and devoted to defending others.
“Deputy Cordero’s death leaves a tremendous hole in the hearts of so many people who had the chance to know him personally,” the Riverside Sheriffs’ Assn. mentioned. “Today, [he] made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty — a debt that can never be repaid. … Our heart goes out to his family, friends, and fellow deputies through this difficult time.”
Deputies wheeled his coffin previous ranks of saluting regulation enforcement officers and right into a hearse exterior the hospital. A procession of sheriff’s cruisers escorted Cordero’s physique to the county coroner’s bureau, passing underneath a big U.S. flag that hung off a fireplace division ladder truck.
Riverside County deputies despatched a message amongst their ranks. A replica obtained by The Times reads: “Our fallen hero just graduated from motor school a few months ago. He was shot and murdered on a traffic stop. … [The suspect] fled but was observed by an off-duty officer who communicated his location. A pursuit ensued” and the suspect was killed. The message closed with, “Rest easy deputy.”
A regulation enforcement procession escorts the hearse carrying the physique of Deputy Isaiah Cordero on Thursday night time in Riverside.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Cordero was employed by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 2014 to work within the county jails.
He was assigned to the Robert Presley Detention Center, Smith Correctional Facility and Indio jail earlier than enrolling on the sheriff’s academy in 2018, Bianco mentioned.
At the time of his dying, Cordero was assigned to the Jurupa Valley station as a bike deputy, a coveted place throughout the division.
Applicants should present “a strong desire to get on a motorclye,” Bianco mentioned. “We don’t just put them there. There is a list of deputies waiting.”
At the station, Cordero was often called a “jokester,” and “all of our deputies considered him a younger brother,” Bianco mentioned.
He was the primary Riverside County deputy to be killed within the line of obligation in additional than 10 years, in accordance to the sheriff.
Deputies had cordoned off a stretch of Golden West Avenue on Thursday night time as investigators labored the scene close to Rustic Lane Elementary School, whose entrances had been also blocked with police tape. A single votive candle flickered on the base of the varsity’s marquee.
Nancy Padilla, who lives throughout the road from the varsity, informed The Times that she heard sirens shortly after 2 p.m. The noise was nothing uncommon for the neighborhood the place she’s lived for 10 years, she mentioned.
But Padilla turned involved because the commotion mounted.
“I told my daughter, ‘It doesn’t sound normal. It’s been going for 10 minutes,’” she mentioned.
Padilla, who had been listening to music and heard no gunshots, seemed exterior and noticed a number of dozen police cruisers and bikes crowding Golden West and the varsity’s car parking zone. Two helicopters clattered overhead.
She mentioned a neighbor informed her the shooter had fled in a truck with a tarp overlaying the mattress.
“I know we don’t live in the best neighborhood,” Padilla mentioned, “but nothing like this has ever happened.”
Times employees author Summer Lin contributed to this report.