On Sunday, January 2nd, 2022, around 1:25 PM, Lake Elsinore Station deputies were dispatched to a home in the 34600 block of Orange Street, in the city of Wildomar, reference a suicidal subject. Dispatch advised the subject admitted to being in possession of a rifle, wanting to kill himself, and stated he was at the residence trying to make contact with the occupant.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Aviation Unit arrived overhead and located the suspect in possession of a rifle, near the backhouse of the property, trying to physically pry open the door of the residence. During that time, dispatch advised that the occupant was inside the residence, fearing for their life and unable to safely leave.

While multiple deputies were en-route to the location, they received information that shots had been fired by the suspect. They arrived on scene and located the suspect on the property, in possession of a rifle. At that time, a deputy involved shooting occurred.

Deputies immediately began life saving measures on the suspect. CalFire and AMR arrived on scene and after multiple attempts at life saving measures, the suspect was ultimately pronounced deceased on scene. The suspect was later identified as 52-YEAR-OLD Matthew Elston.