California sheriff Mike Boudreaux didn’t hold back when announcing that police had killed a suspect who shot dead a detective on Thursday. The officer stated that David Morales, 59, was killed after being run over by an armored vehicle known as a BearCat.
Morales’ death followed a tense stand-off between him and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team which lasted hours according to an article from the Daily Mail. It all began when Tulare County deputies served Morales an eviction notice due to him not paying rent for his home in Porterville for 35 days.
Boudreaux claimed that Morales had been expecting law enforcement to arrive to evict him and so “laid in wait” for officers to come knocking. When they arrived the 59-year-old began firing on them. He then started running through the yards of neighboring properties while wearing tactical and camouflage gear, he also reportedly continued firing on the cops.
Police called for back-up and soon the neighborhood was swarmed with officers including Tulare County Detective Randy Hoppert, 35. Crisis negotiators and Morales’ own family were present to try and talk him down but they were unable to get through to him. Meanwhile residents in the area were advised to seek shelter and local schools were put on lockdown.
During the stand-off between the authorities and Morales, Hoppert received a gunshot wound to the head and was transported to Sierra View Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
“Don’t shoot at cops”
Eventually the authorities were able to track David Morales with the use of a helicopter. The gunman’s rampage was finally put to a stop after he was fatally struck with an armored police vehicle.
Speaking to the press, Sheriff Boudreaux said, “We intentionally ran him over,” before adding, “Don’t shoot at cops. You shoot at cops, we’re going to run you over.” It seems he had no regret over the decision to kill Morales, claiming that “he got what he deserved.”
The Sheriff also delivered a tribute to Randy Hoppert stating “He’s leaving behind a wife and he has a family” and adding that “He’s a human being who takes his kids to sports, shops at the same shopping centers as you do.”
Hoppert had been with the department for six years and served as a navy corpsman between 2010 and 2015. He was a father and husband whose wife had been four months pregnant at the time of his death. Sheriff Boudreaux noted that he was good at his job, meanwhile California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered flags be flown at half mast in honor of Hoppert.
Published: Apr 10, 2026 02:13 pm