On Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at approximately 4:39 p.m., the City of Riverside’s Public Safety Communications Center received a call of a gang graffiti vandalism in progress in the 3700 block of Iowa Avenue, located in the University neighborhood of Riverside, involving a male subject seen with a gun.

When officers arrived, they saw a person matching the description of the subject with the gun amongst a group of males. As officers approached to contact the group, they all dispersed. Officers pursued after the subject with the gun into the 1500 block of University Avenue, at which point an officer involved shooting occurred. The suspect was struck by gunfire and officers administered lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived, but he was pronounced deceased at the scene. A loaded handgun was recovered next to the suspect.

A second suspect involved in the gang graffiti vandalism was located at a nearby apartment complex. The 16-year-old male suspect was detained and later released to his parents with pending charges for vandalism.

Investigators with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Force Investigations Detail responded to the scene and assumed this investigation. They are being assisted by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, Riverside Police Department’s Robbery – Homicide Unit and Gang Intelligence Unit along with Specialists from the Forensics Unit and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office. The suspect was a 19-year-old male adult whose identity is being withheld pending the coroner’s investigation.