Riverside County, California – A Riverside County lawmaker was shot dead Friday.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call at Block 18500 Hildale Lane, Lake Elsinore. A lieutenant, who was later identified as Darnell Calhoun, aged 30, was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
One person was detained after the shooting, according to the RSO.
According to Sheriff Chad Bianco, Calhoun answered a child custody call around 4:20 p.m., and after Calhoun arrived on the scene, a shootout erupted that ultimately killed the deputy sheriff.
Authorities have not released the exact cause of the shooting.
Bianco said Calhoun joined the department in February 2022 after serving with the San Diego Police Department. Bianco said Calhoun is her husband, her son, and intends to be her father.
“No one has anything negative to say about him,” Bianco said of Calhoun. “He was the nicest, wholesome man you could imagine.”
Darnell Calhoun next to Sheriff Chad Bianco. Photo: Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Southern California law enforcement expressed their condolences after the news of Calhoun’s death was announced.
Los Angeles Police Department
Orange County Sheriff’s Office
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office
San Diego Police Station (Former Calhoun Police Station)
Ventura County Sheriff’s Office
A procession was held late Friday night to honor the lieutenant who was killed in the line of duty.
The violence comes just weeks after another Riverside County deputy was shot dead by a suspect in Julpa Valley. On the afternoon of December 29, Isaiah his Deputy Cordero died while attempting to enforce a traffic stop. The shooter, 44-year-old William Shay McKay, was killed after being chased.
Related: In memory of Isaiah Cordero: the murdered lieutenant laid to rest