Cathedral City residents react to officer involved shooting

A Cathedral City community is still in shock after two people were killed in an officer-involved shooting Sunday.

It happened at about 4:45 p.m. in the rear parking lot of the Big 5 Sporting Goods store on Date Palm Drive and McCallum Way. Police responded to a disturbance between a man and a woman.

The officer arrived just moments before police say the man fatally shot the woman.

“I heard it was a girlfriend-boyfriend, something about a fight they had and I guess she was there and he just shot her,” said Cristina Adjei, who works nearby.

The man then turned his gun on police, striking a patrol car. At that point, the officer returned fire, taking the suspect down.

“In the heat of the moment, some people just reach for a gun, I guess,” said resident Don Dellaire.

Nearby residents and employees are still shaken.

“There’s kids, there’s families — so that was really concerning,” Adjei said.

The shooting took place in the parking lot of a shopping center frequented by families and kids in broad daylight. Some said for those that witnessed the incident, it must have been a traumatic experience.

“It changes their lives really,” said Gayle McNall, who’s visiting town. “That’s a hard vision to ever get out of your mind. And I think that’d be terribly tragic and horrible.”

Some witnessed the aftermath of the shooting as well.

“(My friends) drove by there and saw the dead bodies — the body covered — so that was pretty scary,” Adjei said.

Police assured the community Monday this was an isolated incident with no persisting threat.

“It wasn’t a targeted event or anything like that, it wasn’t a robbery or a mugging, so no, I don’t think I would do anything differently,” Dellaire said.

The male suspect was taken to the hospital where he later died from his injuries, and the officer involved suffered minor injuries as well.

Police haven’t identified the officer, suspect or the victim.

Stay with News Channel 3 for new developments.

You can reach Jake on Twitter, Facebook or via email at jake.ingrassia@kesq.com.