A 52-year-old man suspected of starting a gunfight following a dispute in a road construction zone on Highway 74 near Pinyon Pines was identified Friday.
Gabriel Rodriguez of Midway City was mortally wounded during the gun battle just after 2 p.m. Tuesday on the two-lane corridor, between the communities of Ribbonwood and Pinyon Pines, southwest of Palm Desert, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Omar Morales said that 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.
The 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 Thursday. “Investigators believe both the victim and the suspect fired their (guns) during the incident.”
Rodriguez, whom investigators alleged initiated the conflict, was gravely wounded. No one else was injured.
He was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, where he died a short time later.
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.