Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco welcomed Deputy Darnell Calhoun to the agency last February. Calhoun was killed on duty Friday. (Photo: Riverside County SD)
A Riverside County (CA) sheriff’s deputy was shot dead Friday afternoon while responding to a domestic violence call sparked by a custody issue in Lake Elsinore.
Deputy Darnell Calhoun, 30, was the first deputy to arrive at the scene. A second congressman who responded to the call found Congressman Calhoun mortally wounded on the street. The second deputy and the suspect shot each other, and the suspect, identified by Riverside County authorities as 42-year-old Jesse Navarro, was critically injured. No further details about the suspect or his condition were known as of Sunday afternoon.
Calhoun was shot in the leg and torso and died at a local hospital. He is the second Riverside County congressman to be assassinated on the job in 15 days. Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Isaiah Cordero was shot dead during a traffic stop on December 29. Sheriff Chad Bianco said that prior to the Cordero shooting, the last murder of a Riverside County deputy occurred almost 20 years ago. Deputy Bruce Kevin Lee was killed in 2003.
Asked during a news conference to comment on the tragedy in which two lawmakers were lost to criminal attacks in less than a month, Sheriff Bianco said, “There is a growing population of people who have zero respect for other people and zero respect for law enforcement He added that because of this, “small” issues lead to shootouts between law enforcement and suspects.
Deputy Calhoun was married with two young sons and is expecting his wife.
He served two years with the San Diego Police Department before transferring to Riverside County SD last February.
“We mourn with the San Diego PD,” Sheriff Bianco said.
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