Security Official at Loma Linda Killed; Fired Employee Held

A supervising officer with the Loma Linda University Medical Center security force was shot and killed Thursday outside his office, allegedly by an employee who minutes earlier had been fired, authorities said.

The victim was identified by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as Kenneth Kuch, 56, of Loma Linda, who had worked for the university’s police force for about 20 years.

The suspect, Ariel Ramirez, 34, of Colton, was discovered by deputies hiding in a nearby parking structure and was arrested without incident, said Linda Whittaker, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman. The handgun believed used in the shooting was found nearby, she said.

Ramirez was fired from the university as a parking enforcement officer, “although an exact motive for the shooting is not known,” Whittaker said.