An armed man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during a confrontation in which a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy also fired his gun, according to an autopsy cited by Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Karim Shakeel Ali, 30, of Beaumont, died in the hospital after the April 13, 2026, incident in Perris. The San Bernadino County Coroner’s office conducted his autopsy, according to the Riverside sheriff’s department. That’s a result of a new practice in which outside autopsies are conducted when people die in the custody of deputies, including in jails.
Bianco said a deputy also fired after Ali showed a gun, but Bianco did not specify whether any of the deputy’s shots hit Ali in addition to the fatal self-inflicted wound.
Bianco’s new comments came in a “critical incident video” the sheriff’s department released Thursday, May 28. The video includes body-worn and dash-cam footage of the shooting, which Bianco said is still under investigation.
Just before 3 p.m. on April 13, deputies responded to the 5000 block of Western Way about an armed man “suffering from a mental health episode,” Bianco said. The caller who reported the incident said Ali was driving to the location with a handgun and also described his car.
Bianco said deputies pursued Ali when he didn’t stop his car. The pursuit ended when authorities used a grappler in the area of Harville and Oleander avenues.
“As deputies gave commands to the male, he produced a handgun and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” Bianco said in the video.
Body-worn camera footage shows a deputy stepping out of his car and then pointing his gun at Ali’s car. The deputy shouts “Driver, let me see your hands! Driver! Driver!” and fires several shots. Because Ali is inside the car, he and his actions are not clearly visible in the video.
Dash-cam footage, which the sheriff’s department slowed down in the critical incident video, shows Ali’s car with the side of its bumper coming off where it’s attached to what appears to be a grappling rope. It looks like the car is still attempting to move when the driver’s side window shatters, seemingly from the shots.
Bianco said Ali “sustained injuries consistent with a gunshot wound” and deputies rendered aid until paramedics arrived. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The sheriff’s department was notified on April 14, the next day, that Ali died at the hospital.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s office and the sheriff’s department are both conducting criminal investigations of the shooting, and the sheriff’s department will also conduct an internal review of whether its policies were followed.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Armed man killed himself as Riverside sheriff’s deputy fired
Reporting by Ani Gasparyan, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
