Off-duty officer in Southern California shoots man involved in road-rage incident

A man in Riverside County was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after reportedly being shot multiple times by an off-duty police officer who intervened during what authorities are calling a road-rage incident Monday.

Officers with the Murrieta Police Department responded to reports of the shooting in a parking lot at 39540 Murrieta Hot Springs Road at around 9:15 a.m., the department said in a post to social media .

When police arrived at the location, they found an adult male suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, along with an off-duty police officer from the city of Hemet and several witnesses of the shooting.

Authorities rendered life-saving measures on the gunshot victim, who was rushed by paramedics to the hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

“The initial investigation revealed that the off-duty police officer was involved in the shooting of the male,” Murrieta PD said. “All gunshots have been accounted for, and no other people were injured by the gunfire.”

Police added that preliminary information suggests a road-rage incident between two individuals occurred and was witnessed by the off-duty officer, who has not yet been identified.

Details are limited and it’s unclear how the road-rage incident was unfolding, but police said the off-duty officer “subsequently intervened” and fired on the adult male.

“A handgun was located at the scene and the off-duty officer is cooperating with the investigation,” authorities said.

Officials with Murrieta PD said the department will coordinate with the Riverside County Force Investigation Detail, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and the county sheriff’s department to investigate the incident.

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