EL MIRAGE, Calif. — Six people were fatally shot in a remote desert community in California, authorities said Wednesday.
According to a news release from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded at 8:16 p.m. PST to a remote area of the Mojave Desert near the unincorporated community of El Mirage for a wellness check.
Deputies arriving at the scene, located 50 miles northeast of Los Angeles, initially discovered five bodies, the Los Angeles Times reported. During a news conference, Mara Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department, said a sixth body was located in the same area on Wednesday morning, KTTV reported.
Two vehicles were also found at the scene, Rodriguez told reporters. At least one of the SUVs had bullet holes in its windows, KTTV reported.
Details about the victims’ identities, ages and genders were not immediately available, KNBC-TV reported. The circumstances leading up to the shootings and when they occurred remained unclear, according to the television station.
“It’s going to be heartbreaking no matter what the situation is, what they discover as far as the circumstances surrounding it,” Rodriguez told reporters, according to KABC-TV. “Our investigators will continue to do their best to wrap this up quickly and get all the information possible to bring justice to those folks out there.”
No arrests have been made, KTTV reported.
“The investigation is continuing, and additional information will be released when available,” the sheriff’s department said in its news release.
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