By Lance The PI | Sacramento County, CA | July 31, 2026
A routine burglary call in Sacramento’s La Riviera neighborhood escalated into an officer-involved shooting Friday morning after a suspect broke into two separate properties within roughly ninety minutes — first robbing a construction worker at knifepoint, then breaking into a nearby home and pointing the homeowner’s own handgun at his head.
According to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began just before 9 a.m. on the 9000 block of Folsom Boulevard and ended roughly ninety minutes later with gunfire in a shopping center parking lot off Barracuda Way.
At approximately 9:00 a.m., the Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received a call reporting a burglary in progress on the 9000 block of Folsom Boulevard. A construction worker, just finishing his shift, walked out to his vehicle and found a transient male inside it, holding his wallet and cell phone.
When the victim attempted to recover his property, the suspect pulled a knife on him and fled before deputies arrived. Deputies canvassed the area and located personal property the suspect had left behind — property that included identification, allowing investigators to determine who they were looking for.
At approximately 10:20 a.m., roughly five streets to the west, the Communications Center received a second call — this time reporting a burglary in progress on the 2600 block of Mackinaw Way. The homeowner had returned to find a man matching the earlier suspect’s description inside his house.
The suspect had taken the homeowner’s own handgun and pointed it at the homeowner’s head multiple times, threatening to kill him. The homeowner was able to break away, run from the residence, and call 911. The suspect then attempted to steal the homeowner’s vehicle. When that failed, he stole the homeowner’s bicycle instead and fled the scene.
Deputies already in the area were directed toward the suspect by neighbors and located him fleeing on the stolen bicycle, the stolen firearm still in his hand. He refused repeated commands to stop, riding from Grayling Way onto westbound Barracuda Way before reaching a locked gate at the end of a cul-de-sac.
The suspect abandoned the bicycle, squeezed between the gates, and ran into a large adjoining shopping center parking lot on foot, with deputies continuing the pursuit. According to Sheriff’s spokesman Sergeant Edward Igoe, the suspect ran to the fence line at the far end of the lot, stopped, and turned to face deputies with the gun held at his side.
Deputies repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. He refused. He then raised the firearm toward deputies, at which point one deputy fired his rifle, striking the suspect and causing him to drop the gun.
Deputies immediately began emergency medical care, including applying a chest seal and a tourniquet, until Fire personnel arrived. The suspect was transported to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery. As of the Sheriff’s Office release, he was reported in stable condition.
Neither victim was injured, and no deputies were hurt. Investigators say both victims appear to be random and had no known connection to the suspect. The suspect’s identity has not been released.
The investigation is being handled by the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau and Professional Standards Division, standard practice for any officer-involved shooting in the department’s jurisdiction. An independent review is also being conducted by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. In accordance with department policy, the deputy involved has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Watch our full breakdown of the incident, followed by Sergeant Edward Igoe’s complete on-scene press conference, below.
For more on recent Sacramento County officer-involved incidents and crime coverage, see our continuing coverage on Lance The PI News, and our neighborhood crime hub for South Sacramento and surrounding areas.
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