The suspect tipped off authorities himself and pleaded with them to finish him off.
The suspect tipped off authorities himself and pleaded with them to finish him off.
LA QUINTA, California— — Daniel Ford
A California sheriff’s department has released video showing a deputy fatally shooting a gunman, who begged authorities to end his life as he bled out.
The deputy-involved shooting took place at the La Quinta City Hall on Sep. 24, and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department shared footage of the incident on social media on Nov. 13.
The sheriff’s office had received a call about a man in the area holding a rifle. The reporting party was later discovered to have been the gunman himself, identified as 66-year-old Randy Fedorchuck.
In the footage, two deputies observe the man from inside their nearby substation before exiting to confront him. They position themselves around the suspect and instruct him to drop the weapon and raise his hands. The gunman, seen wearing a face mask, does not follow orders and instead appears to aim the rifle at one of the deputies, who fires off two shots.
Once struck, Fedorchuck falls to the ground, and the deputies rush over to tend to the injured man.
“Kill me,” the gunman says two times.
“No!” one of the deputies responds while calling for medical assistance.
Fedorchuck was then transported to a local hospital and later succumbed to his injuries.
Riverside County District Attorney Investigators and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Central Homicide Unit have since opened an investigation into the incident, which is still ongoing.
Another shooting involving deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department occurred over the weekend during a response to “unknown trouble” in Eastvale. Deputies arrived at the scene in the early hours of Nov. 14 and came into contact with an armed man who threatened them. The gunman then shot multiple rounds at them from inside a home, and deputies returned fire.
That suspect, later identified as 43-year-old Jose Alfredo Gonzalez, was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for a non-life threatening injury. He is expected to be booked for multiple counts of attempted murder on a peace officer, three counts of child endangerment, domestic violence and false imprisonment.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office is now investigating the incident, and the deputies involved have been placed on administrative leave.
(Edited by Carlin Becker and Fern Siegel)
