The 24 year old fugitive who was shot after drawing a weapon on law enforcement officers outside a Palm Springs casino has been identified by the Riverside County coroner's office as Mr. Nino Josep Garcia Jr. of Banning.
The shooting occurred just after 6 p.m on Tuesday. A casino technician was injured during the incident, when a stray bullet caught him in the leg after shattering a glass door in the lounge area.
The incident occurred when state and local law enforcement officers attempted to take Garcia into custody as he left the building with a female companion. The pair attempted to run, and Garcia struggled with a local sheriff's deputy. As the chase continued, Garcia turned on the officers with a handgun. At this point, five officers fired on Garcia.
There is an ongoing investigation to determine whether Garcia fired on any of the officers, and which officers' gunfire hit Garcia. Palm Springs Police Sgt. Mitch Spike said “The officers did what they had to do.” Garcia died at the scene. The woman who was with Garcia at the time was taken into custody without resistance.
Nancy Conrad, a spokeswoman for the owners of the casino, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, said that the wounded employee was recovering and had asked to return to work today. She also commented "It certainly was kind of a freak accident that this occurred," and described how security guards pulled casino patrons to the floor and ordered everyone to duck for cover as the shots were fired.
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