Man shot and killed in Tulare County, deputies say

Kassandra Gutierrez Image
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Man shot and killed in Tulare County, deputies say
An investigation is underway after a man was shot and killed in Tulare County.

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- An investigation is underway after a man was shot and killed in Tulare County.

The man has been identified as 29-year-old Jaime Manuel Martinez.

The shooting happened around 11 pm Tuesday near Wheatland and Dooley in Richgrove.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from a previous broadcast and will be updated.

When deputies arrived, they say they found Martinez in the street suffering from a gunshot wound.

He later died at the scene.

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office says it is still working to figure out who pulled the trigger.

"It appears that this was some type of drive-by shooting, and you know, the people who called in the shooting had just heard the noises. No one really seemed to know or at this point, to have witnessed it," said Ashley Ritchie with the Tulare County Sheriff's Office.

Raquel Lopez has been living in the neighborhood for 30 years.

She says the area, which is a few blocks from a school, is typically quiet.

"It makes us sad, what happened here last night, and we hope this doesn't continue because the people live very calmly here and we help each other out," said Lopez.

Lopez says she saw the victim's family show up to the scene last night and sends her condolences to them during this tragedy.

Detectives are still searching for clues to help them find justice.

"Looking for cameras that may be located on homes nearby, on stores nearby surveillance cameras, security cameras. Anything like that is always helpful to us. So yeah, our detectives have been up all night long and will continue to go through that area to see what they can find," explained Ritchie.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Tulare County Sheriff's Office.

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