On Friday, April 10, Riverside Police arrested two suspects involved in an ongoing investigation regarding the killing of a 16-year-old outside the Moreno Valley Mall on Dec. 30, 2025. Officers were dispatched to a business in the 22000 block of Town Circle in Moreno Valley where the shooting took place. They found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound who, despite lifesaving measures, was pronounced dead on the scene.
As part of a months-long investigation, police served numerous residential search and arrest warrants in Hemet and Moreno Valley, during which the two suspects, 18-year-old Avon Owens and another unidentified 18-year-old, were taken without incident. The latter suspect remains unidentified as his status as a minor during the time of the murder. Owens was booked into the Cois Byrd Detention Center on suspicion of murder and the use of a firearm during the commission of a murder, while the other suspect was booked into Southwest Juvenile Hall under the same charges.
This investigation is ongoing. If anyone has additional information, please contact Central Homicide Investigator Denham at 951-955-2777 or Moreno Valley Station Investigator Morales at 951-486-6700.
