Moreno Valley man arrested after fatal shooting in Perris gym parking lot

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies investigate a fatal shooting in the parking lot of Planet Fitness on N. Perris Boulevard in Perris on June 23, 2024. (ONSCENE.TV)

A 46-year-old Moreno Valley resident was arrested early Sunday, June 23, after a man was gunned down outside a Perris gym and the suspect crashed at the end of a police pursuit about an hour later.

No motive was announced for the shooting, which happened in the parking lot of Planet Fitness at 1690 N. Perris Blvd. The victim’s name was not immediately announced.

The shooting was reported around 12:16 a.m., the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputies learned unspecified information about the shooter, and around 12:48 a.m., the sheriff’s helicopter deputies found the suspect’s car in Beaumont. Deputies tried to pull over the car, but it fled. The pursuit ended at the intersection of Florida and Acacia avenues in Hemet, a sheriff’s news release said.

Ernesto Lopez Jr. was arrested without further trouble, the release said. He was booked on suspicion of murder and felony evading and was being held without bail at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

The department asked anyone with information on the slaying to call Investigator Denham at 951-955-2777.