Council Issues Public Safety Message After Gunman Kills Two

The Moreno Valley City Council on Friday, July 25, issued a public safety message after news broke of a gunman who killed two people and injured one Riverside County Sheriff’s deputy, sparking a manhunt that lasted over 24 hours until his body was discovered by police last Wednesday, July 23. In response to the recent violence, the city council issued a message which aimed to quell fears of growing violence within the city. “While some crimes are nearly impossible to prevent, our community must band together to tackle crime,” the release stated. The statement contained statistics that showed how crime rates in the city have fallen in a 22 year period; the FBI Uniform Crime Report indicated 77 serious crimes for every 1,000 residents in 1991. By 2013, the release states, that rate had dropped to 33 serious crimes for every 1,000 residents. The release stated serious crimes decreased by 7 percent in 2013 and are expected to decrease again this year. According to the release, the Moreno Valley Police Department investigated nine of the 10 homicide reports last year. In 2014, there have been two confirmed homicides in Moreno Valley with last week’s recent homicides still under investigation, according to the release. Other ways the city is working to prevent crime, the statement says, is through the presence of a police force Gang Unit; daily arrests; a $2 million Citywide Camera System that includes 260 cameras at 74 locations throughout the city; the city’s pilot deputy cam program, which allows volunteering businesses to give police access to their private camera systems; neighborhood watch programs; and music and after school programs to steer city youth away from crime. The council asked residents to continue to stay informed about their community, stay involved in their community, and keep open lines of communication with City Hall. The shootings took the life of 74-year-old Wilma Patterson at a Shell Gas Station near Sunnymead Ranch Parkway and Old Lake Drive last Tuesday afternoon. The LA Times identified the second homicide victim as Derek Hardy, 58, who police found dead in a home on the 25000 block of Delphinium Avenue last Tuesday. The LA Times also identified the gunman as Alex Anderson, 34. Patterson’s family members told the LA Times that Hardy was her son-in-law. Police are not saying whether the shooter knew his victims. The shootings are under active investigation.