Motive sought in deadly Banning crime spree

Two people were killed and another two were injured in a random shooting in downtown Banning and the suspect was arrested at nearby Beaumont, police said. Police later found that SUV and arrested the man inside.

Diaz said detectives are trying to determine if a body found in a truck that crashed into a wall is linked to violent spree. One man died at the scene and the other was transported to the hospital, but Diaz did not know the extent of his injuries.

Ten minutes later, another call came in reporting car-to-car shots near Nicolet Middle School att the intersection of San Gorgonio Avenue and Nicolet Street.

Police said they first got a call, around 11:35 a.m., saying there were reports of a shooting with a dead man in a vehicle.

The suspect started repeatedly punching the next victim as he was sitting in his vehicle.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and county coroner are working to determine if the man’s death is related to the string of attacks, but Diaz said Banning police are including it in their account of the attacks due to the proximity to other incidents. “I could tell it had been a shooting because there were bullet holes in the window and she had blood on her face from the shattered glass”.

Police believe the shooter then drove to Beaumont, where witnesses said he banged on doors in the 700 block of America Avenue and asked people if there were children in the house. He shouted at children in her back seat and asked if his own children were also in the auto, Thuilliez said.

Less than 10 minutes after the call about the vehicle crash, police in nearby Beaumont detained the suspect, said city police Chief Sean Thuilliez. The suspect reportedly told them he wanted help to find his kids. He was driving a white Chevy Tahoe. Diaz said they found a weapon inside the white SUV that the suspect was driving. Police did not identify the man and said no charges have been filed at this point. The suspect grabbed an object and continued the attack. “At this point, it’s looking like just some random acts of violence in our city”. “We won’t know until we interview him”.