Apple Valley Drive-By Shooting Under Investigation

Gunfire erupted between two vehicles on a quiet Apple Valley street before sunrise Sunday, sending shots toward a car whose occupants say they were being followed by another vehicle just before the shooting started. No one was hit and the vehicle that was targeted did not appear to be struck, but San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies recovered fired cartridge casings scattered across the roadway near Mesquite Road and Eyota Road. The gunshots were reported at approximately 4:20 a.m. Sunday, according to VVNG, which reports that the victims were traveling near the intersection when they heard gunshots coming from an unknown vehicle. That vehicle appeared to have been following the victims' car in the moments before shots were fired, per the outlet's reporting. Deputies who responded found no additional damage or victims at the scene, according to Jenny Smith, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, cited in the same report. Investigators are now looking for a tan or light-colored sedan connected to the gunfire, though no suspect has been identified and the shooter's identity, motive, and relationship — if any — to the victims remain open questions, per the outlet's account. A Neighborhood of Half-Acre Lots South of Highway 18 Redfin results mention single-family zoning and a density of 0.4 to 0.9 dwelling units per acre. It's the kind of stretch where predawn gunfire is jarring precisely because it's usually so quiet. The report does not mention whether any home surveillance cameras in the area captured footage of the suspect vehicle. Because Apple Valley contracts with the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services, according to the Town of Apple Valley, the department's Specialized Investigations Division can provide investigators and department resources for major crimes when requested by local agencies, per the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. The cartridge casings recovered at the scene give investigators physical evidence to work with, and California law treats vehicle-involved shootings harshly even when no one is hurt. Shooting at an occupied vehicle is a felony under California Penal Code Section 246 carrying three, five, or seven years in state prison, regardless of whether any bullets actually strike the vehicle or cause injury, according to legal resource Eisner Gorin LLP. Separately, discharging a firearm from inside a moving or stationary vehicle at another person is punishable by the same three-, five-, or seven-year range under Penal Code Section 26100, per FindLaw. If prosecutors could show that the shooting from a vehicle occurred during a felony, a sentencing enhancement under Penal Code Section 12022.55 could add a consecutive five, six, or 10 years on top of any base felony term. Even a driver who wasn't the shooter can face criminal exposure — under Section 26100(b), a vehicle owner or driver who knowingly allows a passenger to fire a gun from inside the car faces a wobbler charge carrying up to three years in prison, per Justia Law. The report does not identify any charges in this case. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information can submit tips anonymously through WeTip by phone, text, or online submission. This is at least the second violent incident to draw Sheriff's Department scrutiny in Apple Valley this year — a family sued the department after a February 2025 deputy-involved shooting during a 911 call, and in August a 25-year-old Apple Valley man was accused of grabbing a toddler and assaulting a mother in a parking lot. The available reports do not discuss any connection between those cases and Sunday's shooting.