Just weeks after another deputy in his department was killed, a sheriff’s deputy in Riverside County, California, was gunned down in the line of duty, leaving behind his pregnant wife.
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said Deputy Darnell Calhoun, 30, was shot Friday afternoon in Lake Elsinore while responding to a domestic violence and child custody call.
“Dispatch received a report of an unknown incident — voices could be heard in the background. Deputies responded to the scene,” the sheriff stated in a press conference. “At this point, we are not entirely certain of the circumstances surrounding the initial contact with Deputy Calhoun. The second deputy who arrived found our deputy wounded in the street, and they engaged in a gunfight.”
According to Bianco, the suspect was shot and is in critical condition in the hospital.
After two years with the San Diego Police Department, Calhoun joined the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in February 2022.
Riverside County’s sheriff’s department confirmed last week that another deputy, 32-year-old Isaiah Cordero, died at a traffic stop shooting two weeks ago.
Deputy Cordero was the first deputy killed in the line of duty for Riverside County Sheriff’s Department since 2003.
“Across the country, armed individuals are engaging law enforcement in life and death gun battles over what appear to be minor disagreements,” the sheriff said.
In the midst of grief, the sheriff said, “We will survive. We will hold our heads high. And we will come back to work ready to answer another call that may put our lives at risk again.”