On the morning of Tuesday, December 23, 2025, Redlands police responded to reports of shots fired at an apartment complex on Kansas Street and found 36-year-old Aaron Richard Rivera dead of apparent gunshot wounds. Investigators say Rivera’s two juvenile children were asleep inside the residence during the shooting but were not physically injured.

Detectives allege the shooter also tried to cause further harm by leaving the apartment’s stove burners turned on before fleeing. Surveillance video and witness statements reportedly showed a man leaving the scene in a silver 2008 Ford Focus. The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Zackary Aaron Brodowski, the victim’s half-brother and a Calimesa resident.

Later that day Brodowski was located at a Calimesa address, taken into custody without incident, and his home was searched. Police say they recovered a firearm believed to be the murder weapon and clothing matching the footage; Brodowski was booked on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and held without bail.