Deputies Kill Parolee in His Doorway

A routine parole search turned deadly Tuesday night when Riverside Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a 27-year-old Moreno Valley man who authorities say opened his front door and pointed a shotgun at the officers.

Elliott Gil, a 27-year-old Moreno Valley construction worker, was killed instantly. It was not clear Wednesday if he had fired any shots at the officers, according to Riverside County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Dennis Gutierrez.

“He was pointing the gun at the officers,” Gutierrez said. “If you see someone pointing a gun at you and you have a weapon to protect yourself, you will protect yourself. The whole thing happened very quickly.”

Gil served seven years in prison for assault with a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, according to officials at the California Department of Corrections.

He was released in 2001 but went back to prison in November 2002 because of a parole violation. He was paroled again last May.

Gil lived with a younger brother. His sister, Marisa Gil, said he had a 13-year-old son and had recently become engaged to his high school sweetheart.

The family has been kept in the dark about the circumstances of his death, she said. She said she had not been told that her brother pointed his gun.

“What I want to know is did he shoot at them?” Gil, a 34-year-old social worker, said. “Why are police so quick to just shoot? I realize to them that he’s no one, but he was obviously someone to us. Sometimes I don’t think police are any better than the supposed bad guys. “

Neighbors said Gil sometimes threw small parties but mostly kept to himself.

“We had just turned off all the lights and were in bed when we heard the shots,” said Aracely Magana, a neighbor who lives on a lot directly behind Gil’s home.

She said she heard three initial shots and then another four at about 9:30 p.m.

“After that it just got really quiet,” Magana said. “My 8-year-old was very scared and started crying for us to get away from the windows.”

The two deputies involved in the shooting are on paid administrative leave, Gutierrez said.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting is asked to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit at (909) 341-8817.