Community reacts to deadly officer-involved shooting in Cathedral City
A Cathedral City man was shot and killed by police after they responded to a domestic dispute Sunday morning just before 6:30 a.m. in the 33000 block of Wishing Well Trail.
Officers said the man pointed a replica firearm directly at them. They said all the safety markings had been removed from it.
Read: Cathedral City man killed in officer-involved shooting
The area was closed off for hours as authorities investigated, but today, everything was back to normal. All that remains of the events that unfolded is a piece of police tape in the gutter and a blood stain in the dirt.
“I didn’t hear anything that was going on. So, I didn’t hear that I didn’t hear no gunshots or anything,” said Jorge Vega, who lives nearby.
The community, however, remains shaken by Sunday’s events.
“There’s a lot of action going on in the last couple of years like shootings,” said neighbor Giovanny Verduzzo.
KESQ & CBS Local 2’s Katie Widner visited the area to speak with neighbors about the shooting and to ask them how they felt about how police handled the situation. Most were supportive of the officers’ actions.
“You know, I don’t think there was anything else that could have been done because what if it was a real gun that he had or something and he would have shot the officers? I think everything was justified,” Vega said.
“Look, their lives are at risk every moment that they show up someplace. Unknown situation. Unknown what’s going on. If he had had his hands up with nothing in it, he’d be alive today,” Charles Esch, a resident of the valley.
Residents of the area also said they feel the Cathedral City Police Department is doing a good job.
“I feel pretty safe around here because actually, the police with Cathedral City are pretty on-going,” Verduzzo said.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s department is still investigating the shooting. We don’t know yet if there had been any previous calls to the residence or if police were familiar with him.
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