A man who police say crashed his car and then approached them while carrying a tire iron was shot to death by two officers early Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Corona.
The confrontation took place in the parking lot of an Applebee’s restaurant in the Riverside County city.
Sgt. Robert Montanez, a police spokesman, said the man crashed his sedan into an occupied pickup in the parking lot. He got out of the car and walked around the lot, wielding a tire iron, Montanez said. This happened minutes after midnight, which is the restaurant’s listed closing time.
Police received emergency calls at 12:18 a.m.
Officers arrived and ordered him to drop the tire iron. He did not, and as he approached officers, two of them opened fire, killing him.
The man had not been publicly identified as of Tuesday afternoon.
The pickup’s driver was hospitalized for what police said were moderate injuries. Montanez declined to share any statements the driver made, citing the ongoing investigation.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Force Investigations Detail, along with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and Corona police, are investigating the shooting by the officers.
Police ask anyone with information on the case to contact Detective Wade Arens at 951-817-5767 or at Wade.Arens@CoronaCA.gov.