California Deputy Killed in Friday Afternoon Shootout

A Riverside County, California, sheriff’s deputy was shot and fatally wounded during a shootout Friday around 4:20 p.m.

CBS News reports that the deputy, 30-year-old Darnell Calhoun, “responded to the 18000 block of Hilldale Lane in the unincorporated area of Lakeland Village regarding unknown trouble.”

As Calhoun got closer to the residence in question the suspect opened fire on him.

A second deputy arrived on scene and the suspect also shot at him. Calhoun was shot and fatally wounded and the suspect was shot and critically wounded.

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco issued a press release on Calhoun’s death, which said, in part:

The Department is saddened to announce the death of Deputy Darnell Calhoun, most recently assigned to the Lake Elsinore Station. Deputy Calhoun was shot and killed in the line of duty on Friday, January 13, 2023. He was 30 years old.

Darnell Calhoun began his service with our Department as a Deputy Sheriff on February 24, 2022, and was assigned to the Lake Elsinore Station. Deputy Calhoun spent two years working for the San Diego Police Department before being hired by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.

Information on funeral services will be released as it becomes available.

The LAPD also lamented Calhoun’s death:

FOX News reports that the Orange County Sheriff’s Office commented as well, saying, “To our brothers and sisters of Riverside County Sheriff’s Dept., no words can express our deepest sorrow for the loss of Deputy Darnell Calhoun. Our thoughts and prayers are for you, his family, and his friends. We will honor him, mourn him, and stand beside you in every way.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.