Police find a body in burned home where shooting suspect was believed to be hiding

Police found a body in a burned Riverside home that they believed was the hiding spot for a man who shot at police.

As SWAT teams surrounded the house on the 9300 block of Sage Street in Riverside around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, preparing to enter and look for the suspect, the house went up in flames.

Police officers had engaged in a shootout with the man Monday night in the city’s Ramona neighborhood, Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback said Tuesday morning.

The officers approached a suspicious car, and a man standing outside ran down a side street. Officers followed him on foot and the man shot at the officers multiple times, Railsback said. The officers returned fire.

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No officers were injured, and it’s unclear whether the shooter was injured.

Officers saw the man run toward Sage Street, said Railsback said. The area was on lockdown Tuesday morning and police evacuated five or six homes, including the one that caught fire.

But one occupant wouldn’t leave, according to a Riverside Police press release.

“One [occupant] remained inside and refused to respond to any further requests that he exit,” the press release read.

The deceased man inside the home has not been identified. As of Tuesday, police did not know if the fire was caused from SWAT tactics or by something in the home, Railsback said.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Det. Rick Cobb at (951) 353-7135 or Det. Rick Wheeler at (951) 353-7134.

Reach Sonali Kohli at [email protected] or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.

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