Brian Rivas, 38, was killed on the evening of September 14, 2025, in the 28000 block of Wells Fargo Lane in Lake Elsinore. Deputies responding to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon found Rivas with an apparent gunshot wound; he was pronounced dead at the scene as paramedics arrived. Detectives from the Central Homicide Unit led the investigation, canvassing the semi-rural neighborhood east of the I-15, collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses in the hours and days after the shooting.

Investigators worked leads publicly and asked anyone with information to come forward. By September 17, 2025, a suspect had been identified and arrested: Steven Vargas, 33, of Lake Elsinore, was taken into custody in the Riverside area and booked on suspicion of murder, with charges later filed as the case moved into court. Friends and family marked Rivas’s death with online memorials and a fundraiser the next day, while listings of gun-violence victims recorded his name, age, date and place of death.

If anyone in the Lake Elsinore area saw or heard anything on the night of September 14 that could help investigators, please share what you know.