2 dead, 1 wounded in Southern California shooting

The Associated Press
Mar. 11, 2010

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. -- Riverside County sheriff's deputies they are looking at all possible motives in a shooting that left two men dead and one wounded, including a possible link to immigrant smuggling.

Two men were found shot at a home in Moreno Valley Thursday night, said Deputy Melissa Nieburger. One man died at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Authorities say the third man, who also had been shot, walked into a cell phone store earlier Thursday to ask for help. He was in critical condition Thursday night.

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are helping search for the suspects.

Witnesses at the cell phone store told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that the man told them he was being held at the home with ten other immigrants and that he was shot five times during a fight after the coyote - a term for a human smuggler - demanded $3,700 from him or his family.

Ron Olmsted, 36, of Riverside told the newspaper that the man said he was from Pueblo, Mexico, and had crossed the border blindfolded at about 2 a.m.

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