Anza Road Closure
Highway 74 Closed for Hours After Anza Shooting Critically Injures One
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Deputies were dispatched to the scene after a call for an “assault with a deadly weapon” reported just after 2 p.m., according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
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Authorities said the closure covered roughly a 20-mile stretch, from the bottom of the hill in Palm Desert to State Route 371 near Anza, after the shooting.
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Sgt. Robert Martinez identified the location more specifically as the mountains along the Pines to Palms Highway, with the shooting reported at 2:20 p.m. near Pinyon Pines.
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The California Highway Patrol said the shutdown was enforced between the junction of Highways 74 and 371 in Anza and all the way to Cahuilla Hills, which abuts Palm Desert to the east.
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Riverside County Sheriff’s spokesperson Robert Martinez described the investigation as “active and ongoing.”
A shooting on Highway 74 near the remote Ribbonwood area east of Anza left one person dead and shut down a 20-mile stretch of the mountain road for several hours Tuesday afternoon, according to Press Enterprise. Deputies were called to the scene just after 2 p.m. following a report of an "assault with a deadly weapon," and the victim was airlifted to a regional trauma center in critical condition before later dying from the injuries, MyNewsLA reported.
One person was detained and questioned at the scene. The California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert as Highway 74 — the winding Pines to Palms Highway — was closed in both directions, stranding drivers and isolating mountain communities from the Coachella Valley below.
Victim Airlifted as Deputies Secured the Scene
The shooting was reported at 2:20 p.m. near the intersection of Highway 74 and Ribbonwood Drive, according to MyNewsLA. Deputies found one victim with a life-threatening gunshot wound. A Mercy Air helicopter airlifted the victim to a trauma center in critical condition. The victim later died from those injuries.
Officers conducted a felony stop on a vehicle near the scene. Witnesses described a tense standoff before one person was detained and taken in for questioning. Detectives from the Riverside County Sheriff's Central Homicide Unit arrived to lead the investigation. Sgt. Robert Martinez called the case "active and ongoing."
20-Mile Highway Closure Isolated Anza From Palm Desert
The California Highway Patrol shut down Highway 74 in both directions starting at 4:29 p.m., according to SB Sun. The closure ran from State Route 371 near Anza all the way to Cahuilla Hills, which borders Palm Desert to the east — a stretch of roughly 20 miles.
Highway 74 is a narrow, two-lane road with steep drop-offs and no easy alternate route. With no viable bypass other than the much longer State Route 243, the closure effectively cut off Anza and the Pinyon Pines area from the Coachella Valley for hours. No reopening timeline was given.
Shooting Location Deep in Rugged Mountain Corridor
Sgt. Martinez pinpointed the shooting as occurring along the Pines to Palms Highway near Pinyon Pines, MyNewsLA reported. The Ribbonwood area sits south of the San Bernardino National Forest in a sparsely populated stretch of Riverside County. Few residents and minimal infrastructure make emergency response in the area especially challenging.
The initial call to the CHP came in around 2:10 p.m. as a possible traffic collision with "shots fired." That detail raised questions about whether a crash preceded the shooting or served as the trigger for the confrontation. Authorities did not immediately clarify the sequence of events or any connection between the parties involved.
Motive Unknown, Suspect Not Yet Charged
Investigators did not release the names of the victim or the person detained, pending next-of-kin notification and formal charges, according to Press Enterprise. No motive was provided. The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said the investigation remained active, and detectives were still processing the scene along the highway asphalt.
Potential charges could include first-degree murder or assault with a deadly weapon, depending on what evidence reveals about intent. The shooting occurred on California's primary election day, and the 20-mile closure raised concerns about whether residents in the Pinyon Pines area could reach polling stations before the 8 p.m. deadline.
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