La Quinta man killed his brother before shooting himself

Two men found dead inside a La Quinta residence Sunday morning have been identified as Rick and Robert Bertrand. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said the incident turned out to be a murder-suicide.

The shooting happened in the 51500 block of Avenida Carranza around 9:20 p.m. Saturday and their bodies were discovered at 11:25 a.m. Sunday.

According to deputies, 55-year-old La Quinta resident Robert Bertrand shot and killed his brother Rick Bertrand, a 61 year old from Cathedral City, and then shot his sister before taking his own life.

Their sister, whose name hasn’t been released, left the scene in a car but became unresponsive behind the wheel in the 46600 block of Washington Street in La Quinta. Emergency crews took her to Desert Regional Medical Center where she remains in critical but stable condition.

Police were initially called to the area on a report of a traffic collision; that’s when they found the woman injured in her car. Officers learned she had last been seen with family and that’s what brought them to the home on Avenida Carranza where they discovered the bodies.

Deputies said the shooting happened over a dispute of property and that the mother of the siblings had recently passed away.

Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call Investigator Loureiro at the Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit (760) 393-3524.

News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 will keep you updated on the woman’s condition.