Location: Best Western, Delano

Incident Date: 6/14/19

City: Delano

Posted by: Media Relations

Suspect Killed in Officer Involved Shooting in Delano

Around 4:19 p.m. on 6/13/19, TCSO deputies received a 911 call from a man who said his son has been attacked in front of their home on Hernandez Street in Richgrove. The 18-year-old victim told Deputies that two men and a woman came to his house and attacked him and made threats. He was taken to the hospital by family members and treated and released. 

At 10:55 p.m., our Deputies received another 911 call from the same house in Richgrove where the attack happened earlier, stating someone shot up the house and a bullet had gone through the window. A second person called 911 and said that the drive-by shooting and the attack that occurred earlier at the same house were related.

Around 12:30 a.m. on 6/14/19, the car that Deputies believed was involved in the attack and drive-by shooting was tracked down to a Best Western in Delano. Through further investigation, Deputies found the room where the suspects were hiding. They knocked on the door repeatedly, asking them to come out. At the same time, Delano Police Officers were on-scene helping TCSO Deputies try to make contact with the suspects.

After several minutes of the Deputies knocking, the male suspect jumped out of the back window. That's when shots were fired by a Delano Police Officer, hitting the suspect. He later died at the hospital.

TCSO Deputies inside the hotel continued knocking, asking the suspects to come out. As the gunfire was going on outside with the Delano Police Officer and the male suspect, a woman swung the hotel door open while two TCSO Deputies were inside the hallway. A shot was fired, hitting the woman in the hip. She was taken to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.

The Delano Police Officer involved is a 10-year veteran of the Department. The Tulare County Sheriff's Office Deputy is a two-year veteran of the Department. Per Department policy, he has been placed on Paid Administrative Leave, pending an investigation by the Porterville Police Department. 

If you have any information about this incident, you’re asked to call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office at 559-733-6218.