Riverside County Deputies Shoot, Kill Gunman Who Had Harmed Girlfriend

HEMET – Police finally identified a man who was fatally shot by a deputy sheriff when he pointed a rifle toward a Riverside County deputy sheriff on Tuesday night.

Reports said that a domestic violence disturbance call from a woman had brought a deputy to a house near Highway 74 in the Valle Vista area shortly after 6 p.m. Sgt. Joe Borja said Kenneth Blomberg, 33, had shot his girlfriend in the head with a rifle after physically assaulting her and threatening to cut her throat with broken glass. The injuries were not life threatening, said Borja.

The woman had instructed the dispatcher that her boyfriend had warned “that if deputies arrived, there would be a shootout,” according to a statement issued by Borja. She also said that Blomberg had threatened to burn down the residence.

Deputies arrived at the residence along Acacia Ave., east of New Chicago Ave., then took on a search of the suspect in that neighborhood. A deputy found the suspect hiding in the backyard of a nearby house on Acacia Ave. “Deputies ordered the suspect to put his weapon down,” said Borja in a statement. “The suspect raised the rifle in a threatening manner toward one of the deputies. The deputy fired one round, striking the suspect.” Deputies immediately administered first aid, said the report.

Borja said Blomberg, who was shot at 6:46 p.m., man was taken to Hemet Valley Medical Center, where he died at 7:21 p.m.

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