Neighbors describe deadly shooting of Tulare deputy. ‘I wish I hadn’t seen what I saw’
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- Juan Alvarado heard gunshots and saw deputies running and taking cover during an eviction.
- Deputy Randy Hoppert was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead there.
- Shooter identified as 59-year-old David Eric Morales who was killed after a six-hour standoff.
“Gunshots.”
That is what Juan Alvarado heard the morning of Thursday, April 9 as he was getting ready for his day working from home on the 1700 block of West Brian Avenue in north Porterville.
Alvarado was sitting at his desk in his office facing the street when he called police. It was around 10:30 a.m.
“Officers start pulling up right here,” Alvarado said Monday afternoon as he pointed to the street in front of his house.
Alvarado recounted what he witnessed from his window that day when Tulare County Sheriff’s Office deputy Randy Hoppert was shot and killed in the line of duty after a man ambushed deputies serving an eviction notice three houses down. Hoppert, 35, was part of the response to the initial shots-fired call.
The suspect — identified as David Morales, 59 — remained outstanding for at least six hours, wearing camouflage and moving between three homes as he fired off rifle shots before he was intentionally run over and killed by an armored police vehicle, Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said that evening at 5:45 p.m.
After the initial shooting, Alvarado said he saw deputies running down the street away from the shooter, taking cover behind his white pickup truck parked on the street.
He heard more gunshots.
“It sounded like a heavy fire. And then that’s when he hit one of the officers over here,” said Alvarado, pointing to a spot behind his truck where Hoppert was gunned down.
“I am just having a hard time with the whole thing. The officer died, and right in front of my house. That’s upsetting.” Alvarado said. “I saw him pull up. He is very distinguishable. He’s red-headed, so I saw him come up, and then I saw him die. So, I am not happy with none of that stuff. ...
“I wish I hadn’t seen what I saw.”
The deputy was rushed to Sierra View District Hospital in Porterville, where he was pronounced dead. He was the first California officer killed in the line of duty in 2026. Hoppert, a detective, was a family man and six-year veteran of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Alvarado and his two dogs were evacuated from his house around 3 p.m. in a Visalia Police SWAT vehicle that was driven over the lawn to the front door of his house, he said. They were taken to Holy Cross Church on Grand Avenue, located less than mile away from the shooting.
He wasn’t able to return home until the following morning, spending the night with relatives.
Alvarado said it wasn’t until about 6 p.m. on Thursday when he learned that a neighbor down the street was the shooter, describing him as a loner who had minimal interaction with others.
“He’s always to himself — that’s the best way that I can describe him,” said Alvarado, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2005. “None of us really knew him.”
The house is now boarded up with “keep out,” “no trespassing” and “Do not enter unsafe to occupy” signs posted.
Across the street from Alvarado’s house, Daniela Pedraza said she heard a loud impact while she was providing in-home care to an elderly woman and went to see what happened. When reaching the front security door of the house, Pedraza said she saw people running and heard gunshots. She closed the door immediately.
“I started crying, in a panic. What is happening here?” Pedraza said of hearing the first gunshots.
Through the living room window, Pedraza said she could see armed officers taking cover behind pickup trucks on the street.
She then ran toward the room of the bedridden woman she cares for, lowering the bed as far as she could and throwing herself onto the floor as the gunfire became more intense.
The two waited for law enforcement to evacuate them.
Pedraza, who has lived on that street for about a year, said she was still scared. Her car and the house show where they were hit by bullets.
Like Alvarado, Pedraza said she didn’t know the shooter.
“He was a reserved person. He almost never went out. I didn’t know him. I thought the house was abandoned,” Pedraza said.
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 9:25 AM.
