Police Identify Gunman In Officer-Involved Shooting

Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies released the name of the man shot by police last week after a high-speed chase on Interstate 10.

Gordon Alan Ascencio, 43, of Hemet was arrested at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs where he was being treated after the shooting, said Riverside County Sheriff’s spokesperson Herlinda Valenzuela.

The shooting happened on Thursday evening after a car, reportedly driven by Ascencio, was spotted by a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy driving erratically with one tire completely shredded on Highway 60, according to Valenzuela.

The deputy signaled the suspect to pull over, but he refused, triggering a pursuit. A California Highway Patrol officer took over the chase, backed up by several deputies from the sheriff’s Cabazon station.

The chase went about six miles, ending just east of 22nd Street on the eastbound 10.

“The investigation has revealed that the suspect, a white male adult, was armed with a loaded rifle and pointed (it) at the deputies and officer,” Valenzuela said.

She did not say how many shots were fired at the suspect, who remains hospitalized in stable condition.

The deputies and CHP officer were not hurt.

Ascencio was released from the hospital last week, and sent to the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside where he is awaiting arraignment.

He was being held in lieu of $50,000, and is tentatively scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Riverside.