Victim & suspect identified in Joshua Tree shootings
UPDATE: 5/23/18 9:00 a.m. – The male suspect and the female victim have been identified. The woman killed in the initial shooting was 23-year-old Ronda Ebeling of Joshua Tree and the suspect killed in the deputy-involved shooting was 58-year-old Ray Wyatt of Joshua Tree.
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A murder investigation is underway in Joshua Tree following three shootings Monday night; one involving a civilian shooting another civilian, another two involving sheriff’s deputies shooting at the civilian gunman (according to Sheriff’s Department news release, he was struck during the second deputy-involved shooting).
Last night, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Dispatch received a call from a person who stated that he was on the phone with a woman who was going to meet with her ex-boyfriend at a remote location. The person calling dispatch said that he could hear the woman screaming and that he believed that she was being assaulted. He also heard a male present with the female, saying that he was in possession of a gun.
The caller informed Dispatch that the male suspect and the female victim were located at a dirt field near the intersection of Yucca Trail and Contenta Road. When Sheriff’s Deputies arrived on the scene, they found the victim and suspect standing in the field.
When deputies attempted to make contact with the pair, the suspect shot the victim in the upper body. A Deputy-involved shooting took place and the suspect then fled the scene on foot.
Additional deputies arrived on the scene and swept the area for the suspect, eventually finding him hiding in a bush nearby. A second deputy-involved shooting occurred. The suspect was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.
The motive behind the shooting is still under investigation.
The female victim was transported to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead at approximately 9:35 p.m.
Anyone with additional information relating to this case is urged to contact Detective Floyd Stone at 909-387-3589, or, if they wish to remain anonymous, contact the We-Tip hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME or go to the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.
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