2 California Deputies are Fatally Shot Just Two Weeks Apart

A Southern California sheriff’s deputy was shot Friday afternoon, just two weeks after another deputy in the same department was slain in the line of duty.

Darnell Calhoun, 30 years old, of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office (RSO) was fatally shot Friday afternoon while on duty. He was rushed to the hospital with serious life-threatening injuries and was announced dead.

Sheriff Chad Bianco said that Calhoun responded to a call concerning child custody around 4:20 pm but it was not clear what led to the shooting. Deputies responded to a call in the 18500 block of Hilldale Lane, where the suspect began firing at the officers. The officers called it an “unknown trouble” where struggling voices could be heard in the background. Bianco said they are not completely sure of what happened during the initial contact.

Riverside County Deputy Darnell Calhoun
Riverside County Deputy Darnell Calhoun (right) poses with Sheriff Chad Biano in an undated photo. Calhoun was shot and killed Friday, just two weeks after another deputy in the department was slain in the line of duty.
(Photo: Riverside County Sheriff via AP)

The suspect is in custody and was listed in critical condition, according to Sheriff Bianco during a news conference. The identity of the suspect was not yet released.

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Calhoun was a husband, a son, and a father-to-be. He joined the department on February 2022, after serving with the San Diego Police Department.

Many were sad about his death. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office expressed its deepest sorrow for the loss of Calhoun.

Calhoun’s passing away comes just weeks after Deputy Isaiah Cordero, 32, another Riverside County deputy, was also shot and killed during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley on Dec. 29.

Cordero pulled over a pickup truck, but the 44-year-old driver William Shae Mckay, shot him as he approached them. Mckay escaped but was hunted by law enforcement authorities. He was killed during a pursuit.

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