2 People Killed, Security Guard Injured In Shootout Outside Riverside Nightclub
RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) – A couple were killed and a security guard was injured in a shootout outside a Riverside nightclub at around midnight Sunday that also sent a car careening into an ice cream shop.
The shooting occurred outside El Calentano in the 10300 block of Arlington Avenue at about 12:01 a.m. Monday after a security guard had escorted a man and woman out of the club following some kind of altercation inside, according to a Riverside police spokesperson.
The couple got in a car, drove back in front of the club and started shooting in the direction of the security guard, the spokesperson said, prompting the guard to return fire.
The car then appeared to lose control, police said. It accelerated and slammed into an ice cream shop in front of the club.
The man and woman were killed, police disclosed. The security guard was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, but is expected to survive. No names were immediately released.
"To me that says, he probably had a little too much to drink, and was acting up a little bit," Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback told reporters.
One of the members of the band which was playing in the club at the time told CBSLA that, just prior to the shooting, the security guard sensed that the couple were going to return, and he told people who were standing outside to leave.
"There was people gathered outside, because he just put them out of the nightclub, so the guy is upset, so the security guard told them to move out of the way, because he's gonna peel out right now, throw the car on us," musician Eliud Torres said. "So what happens is he just stops right there by the front of the door and he just starts shooting."
Torres said that the guard, a friend of his, was struck in the leg. Torres immediately grabbed a belt and tied it around the leg while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
"All I did was just told him to just focus on me, 'look at me, look at me,' and then I was just putting pressure on the wound," Torres said.
It's unclear exactly what prompted the two victims to be escorted out of the club.
Police are continuing to investigate. This was El Calentano's first weekend open since the pandemic began.
