Late on Saturday, April 4, 2026, gunfire erupted in a San Jacinto neighborhood and deputies responded to the 45000 block of Castile Canyon Road around 11:40 p.m. There they found 27-year-old Frankie Edward Ortega Jr., a resident of San Jacinto, with apparent gunshot wounds; Ortega was pronounced dead at the scene. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Central Homicide Unit opened an investigation but has not released details about a motive or the events leading up to the shooting.

Investigators were working to identify suspect or suspects, and no arrests had been announced as of early April. Visitation for Ortega was scheduled for April 15 in Hemet, with a religious ceremony and committal on April 16 in San Jacinto. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Investigator Gonzales at 951-955-2777 or Investigator Siaw at 951-791-3400.

Did anyone in the San Jacinto area see or hear anything that night or know anything about Ortega’s movements before the shooting?