Calif. Deputy Fatally Shot in Head During Domestic Violence Call

An armed suspect killed San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Nunez before leading police on a high-speed pursuit that ended when the suspect's motorcycle flipped over an off-duty deputy's car.

By Sierra van der Brug

Source Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.

Oct. 28, 2025

3 min read

What to know

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Nunez was fatally shot in the head Monday while responding to a domestic violence call in Rancho Cucamonga.
The suspect fled on a motorcycle, reaching speeds of up to 200 mph before crashing into an off-duty deputy.
Sheriff Shannon Dicus said the department will ensure the suspect is held accountable; Nunez, a six-year veteran, is survived by his wife, 2-year-old daughter, and unborn child.

An armed suspect killed San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Nunez before leading police on a high-speed pursuit that ended when the suspect's motorcycle flipped over a car. — San Bernardino County, CA, Sheriff's Deputy Andrew Nunez.

A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy was shot to death in Rancho Cucamonga on Monday afternoon, Oct. 27, with the suspect racing away on a motorcycle that led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit along the 210 Freeway. An off-duty deputy eventually intervened with his car, deliberately colliding with the motorcycle and knocking the suspect off of it.

Deputy Andrew Nunez, 28, died from “a single gun shot to the head,” San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said at a Monday evening press conference at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where the deputy had been taken.

Nunez had worked as a deputy for six years, was a father to a 2-year-old daughter and expecting another child with his wife.

“He served the community here in Rancho Cucamonga, wonderful father, wonderful deputy sheriff,” Dicus said.

Deputies had arrived, just after 12:30 p.m., to the 12300 block of Hollyhock Drive — responding to a call about an armed man threatening a woman, the Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. It was domestic violence call about a man with a gun, Dicus said at Monday’s press conference.

The deputies were shot at, the sheriff’s statement said.

The motorcyclist lead law enforcement on a pursuit. At one point, it appears, he brandished a handgun — getting it positioned in a hand while not holding the handlebars.

That pursuit ended when the motorcycle crashed near the Campus Avenue exit of the eastbound 210 shortly after 1:30 p.m. The motorcyclist appeared to reach speeds over 150 miles per hour, even approaching 200 mph, Dicus said.

An off-duty narcotics officer used his car to intervene, colliding into the suspect and causing the motorcycle to flip over the hood of the car, sending the suspect to the ground.

“The pursuit came to a conclusion with an off-duty deputy sheriff who put himself on duty and conducted a legal intervention by hitting the suspect on the motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to go down,” Dicus said.

Quickly, a half-dozen law enforcement personnel surrounded the suspect.

The suspect was injured and taken into custody and to a hospital, the Sheriff’s Department said. The suspect has not been identified yet as the sheriff’s department works to forensically positively identify and interview him.

The sheriff’s department is investigating the initial call regarding potential domestic violence and to identify the relationship between the suspect and the woman at the scene of the call. The initial call, pursuit and the shooting of the deputy will all go into a decision regarding the suspect’s charges, Jason Anderson, the San Bernardino County district attorney said.

“Clearly, we’re looking at this as a murder on a peace officer…” Anderson said of possible charges.

Flags at the state Capitol and Capitol Annex Swing Space will be flown at half-staff, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced.

The Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Association “is here to provide support as necessary to everyone affected by this tragedy,” said Lolita Harper, the group’s executive director and a former detective with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. “We support the station, the families and anyone else who needs it. And our hearts are broken.”

“I certainly hope that for the family, that we can provide some level of peace by making sure that the suspect is held to answer for this crime and we will continue to move forward as a department,” Dicus said.

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