Riverside man kills burglary suspect during home invasion turned shootout
A large scale investigation is underway in Riverside after a man opened fire on a group of burglary suspects who attempted to enter his apartment early Wednesday morning, causing a shootout that left him wounded and one of the burglars dead.
According to police, a group of burglary suspects attempted to enter the man's apartment located at a complex on Sycamore Canyon Road at around 1:40 a.m. when he grabbed a gun and opened fire, killing one of the attempted burglars.
At least one of the suspects was armed, returning fire and striking the homeowner, who is said to have suffered a gunshot wound to his lower body but is expected to survive.
As they surveyed the scene, officers also located the burglary suspect who had been shot inside of a vehicle in the parking lot. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.
Investigators also found that some of the nearby apartments had been sprayed with bullets during the shootout, as evidence by one unit that had a shattered window and three bullet holes.
One man who witnessed some of the incident detailed what he saw.
"I heard some shots, I thought maybe it was a firecracker, but it wasn't. It was definitely some gunshots," said a man named Robert, who lives in the area. He said that he saw four suspects enter a waiting vehicle, which then crashed before making it out of the complex's exit. He then saw them get out of the car and run on foot, two headed north from the scene while the other two headed south. The fifth was left behind where police found him.
Police were unsure if the man was targeted by the buglars.
Officers, assisted by a K9 team, are still searching for the other suspects involved in the incident.
No additional information on the suspects involved was available and no arrests have yet been reported.
