Sheriff: Body Of Man Suspected In Shootings Found In Moreno Valley
MORENO VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — Authorities Wednesday were recovering the body of a man believed to be responsible for murdering two people and wounding a deputy in Riverside County.
The body, which has not been positively identified, was located outside a home off Pigeon Pass in Moreno Valley, where deputies had been conducting a massive search, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department tweeted just after 9 a.m.
Officials believe the man killed Wilma Patterson, 74, around 2 p.m. Tuesday after opening fire with an AR-15 rifle at a Shell gas station on Sunnymead Ranch Parkway.
Patterson's body was found inside a white, bullet-riddled SUV at the scene.
At 2:25 p.m., a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy was wounded in the 8500 block of Pigeon Pass Road while responding to a call of assault with a deadly weapon.
Officials said the deputy and the man, described as heavily armed, exchanged gunfire in the nearby Box Canyon area before he escaped.
The injured deputy was treated at Riverside County Regional Medical Center and released; he is recovering at home.
A third crime scene was later discovered Tuesday by authorities at a home in the 25500 block of Delphinium Avenue, where Derek Hardy, 57, Patterson's son-in-law, was found dead.
"Where do we go from here is another question," Patterson's son Randy Greene said tearfully. "I don't know what to say, y'all."
Authorities searched the Box Canyon area overnight, and a SWAT team cleared the area off Pigeon Pass around 5 a.m. Wednesday. It was unclear exactly when deputies discovered the body of the man or how he died.
The relationship between the man and the Patterson family was unclear. No motive was released.
"We believe there are no more outstanding suspects," the Sheriff's Department said.
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