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<\/p>\nPORTERVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) — A Tulare County Sheriff’s Office detective was shot and killed during a confrontation in Porterville on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said that deputies were serving an eviction notice at a home on Brian Avenue near North Salisbury Street around 10:40 a.m. when shots were fired.<\/p>\n
Authorities said the suspect, identified as David Morales, born in 1966, barricaded himself inside the home and was believed to be armed with a high-powered rifle. Multiple shots were exchanged.<\/p>\n
Detective Randy Hoppert was struck, and after a tactical rescue was taken to Sierra View Medical Center in Porterville, where he later died.<\/p>\n
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux confirms a Tulare County Sheriff’s Office detective was shot and killed during a confrontation in Porterville.<\/p>\n
Sheriff Boudreaux said officials considered using a medivac helicopter to transport Hoppert to the trauma center at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, but the detective’s condition was too volatile for air transport.<\/p>\n
Fallen detective leaves behind pregnant wife<\/p>\n
FILE – Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux, left, with Randy Hoppert, right, the the deputy who was shot and killed in Porterville.<\/p>\n
Hoppert served in the U.S. Navy from 2010 to 2015 and joined the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office on January 5, 2020.<\/p>\n
He leaves behind a wife who is four months pregnant.<\/p>\n
His grandfather previously served as a Tulare County undersheriff.<\/p>\n
Deadly confrontation during eviction<\/p>\n
Boudreaux said the eviction involved a final notice after the suspect failed to pay rent for 35 days and was expecting law enforcement to arrive.<\/p>\n
He said Morales “laid in wait,” and deputies immediately came under gunfire when they arrived to serve the notice.<\/p>\n
The detective who was killed was part of the group of officers who responded to assist.<\/p>\n
Boudreaux said the detective died around noon, approximately 60 to 80 minutes after the eviction process began.<\/p>\n
Heavy law enforcement response unfolds<\/p>\n
Several SWAT teams were deployed to the area, and Sheriff Boudreaux said homes across four blocks were cleared as a precaution.<\/p>\n
Crisis negotiators responded to the scene, with multiple law enforcement agencies assisting. The California Highway Patrol also deployed a helicopter equipped with specialized technology to help locate the suspect.<\/p>\n
Westfield Elementary, Sequoia Middle School and Monache High School were placed in a secure status, with students safe inside.<\/p>\n