Police in California are searching for the person or persons responsible for fatally shooting seven people at an illegal marijuana-growing operation.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies discovered a grisly scene upon arriving at a residence in the unincorporated area of Aguanga early Tuesday morning. After receiving a report about an assault with a deadly weapon at a residence, they discovered six bodies and one woman who had suffered gunshot wounds and later died at the hospital, according to the Associated Press.
The sheriff’s office said that the residence was “being used to manufacture and harvest an illicit marijuana operation.” Authorities said they also discovered more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana at the property and hundreds of plants.
While marijuana is legal in California for both medical and recreational use, the state has still had to grapple with black-market growers and dealers who charge less for the drug than legal shops, as legal marijuana sales in California are heavily taxed.
The sheriff’s office is still searching for the perpetrator of the shooting, although it reassured Aguanga, a community of fewer than 2,000, that the violent killings were “an isolated incident.”
“The area is safe, and we don’t have any other concerns,” said Sgt. Deanna Pecoraro of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. An investigation is ongoing.
