On the evening of August 16, 2025, 30-year-old Hispanic man Richard Anthony Smith was fatally shot in a wash north of Third Street and west of Palm Lane in San Bernardino. San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies arrived about 7:30 p.m. and found two adult males with gunshot wounds; both were taken to a hospital, but Richard Smith could not be saved. A 31-year-old man survived.

Detectives from the Sheriff’s Specialized Investigations Division — Homicide Detail — determined Smith and the surviving man had been in an altercation with the suspect or suspects before shots were fired. The incident was recorded as PC 187 – Murder (DR# 012501838, H# 2025-072). Authorities listed the shooter or shooters as unknown and announced no arrests in the immediate aftermath.

Public remembrances and an obituary confirmed Smith’s death on August 16, 2025, and family members set up a fundraiser. Local coverage sometimes placed the loss in nearby Rialto, though the Sheriff’s account locates the scene in San Bernardino. Who opened fire and why remains unanswered; anyone with information about that night is asked to come forward.