Tami Roleff photo
A man who barricaded himself inside his home in Morongo Valley was killed in a deputy-involved shooting Tuesday afternoon. A Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman told Z107.7 News that deputies were called to the 53500 block of 29 Palms Highway at 8:15 a.m. when a man said he heard gunshots and was concerned that his neighbor was firing a gun toward his home. When deputies arrived, they were unable to establish any communication with the man whom they believed had fired the gun; he had barricaded himself inside the house. Deputies called for a Special Weapons and Tactics team to take over. The man’s mother, Cathy Cato, told Z107.7 News that her son had called her about 10 a.m. to say that helicopters were flying over his house. Dozens of vehicles—Sheriff and CHP patrol cars, ambulances, fire engines, SWAT tactical vehicles, and even a second helicopter—were staged at the Hi-Desert Rod and Gun club, just east of the home where the man had barricaded himself. At 1:28, gunshots could be heard from a deputy-involved shooting, and Cato told Z107.7 News that her son was killed in the shooting. At 2:04, a small explosion was heard; the SWAT team blew up a small bag that they found in the driveway, fearing it may have been a booby-trap. The man’s identity has not been released yet.
