RivCo Gunfight Victim ID'd As Orange County Man

PALM DESERT, CA — The man suspected of starting a gunfight after a dispute erupted in a Highway 74 construction zone near Pinyon Pines was identified Friday as an Orange County resident.

The Riverside County Coroner's Bureau identified Gabriel Rodriguez, 52, of Midway City, as the person killed in the hail of bullets on Tuesday afternoon.

Just after 2 p.m., Rodriguez was mortally wounded during the gun battle on the two-lane corridor, that occurred between the communities of Ribbonwood and Pinyon Pines, southwest of Palm Desert, according to Officer Omar Morales of the California Highway Patrol.

"A tow truck driver and motorists in two other vehicles were involved in an unspecified confrontation within the construction zone, where lane closures were in effect, near South Palm Canyon Drive," Morales reported.

That encounter led to the parties continuing westbound on the highway and ultimately pulling handguns at the end of a collision, according to the CHP and Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

"An armed confrontation occurred between the occupants of the vehicles," Morales said. "Investigators believe both the victim and the suspect fired their (guns) during the incident."

Rodriguez, whom investigators alleged initiated the conflict, was gravely wounded. He was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he died a short time later.

No one else was injured in the gunfight.

The other individual involved in the shooting, whose identity was not disclosed, was initially taken into custody by deputies on suspicion of firearm assault, but he was released after questioning.

"Investigators have identified all known parties involved, and there are no outstanding suspects," Morales said.

Anyone with information relevant to the investigation was asked to contact the CHP's Border Division Major Crimes Unit at 858-944-6300.