The Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a meeting Friday among Soboba tribal leaders, representatives from the Riverside County, Calif., sheriff's department and state representatives in the hopes of calming the growing friction between the county law enforcement officers and residents of the reservation – the site of three deadly shootings by sheriff’s deputies in the last week, according to today’s Los Angeles Times.
Sheriff’s deputies shot two tribal members dead Monday. Both tribal members were suspects in a shooting at the guardhouse at the reservation entrance. Monday's fatalities were the second and third tribal members in the last week killed by deputies in gun battles. There have been three other shootings on or near the reservation near San Jacinto since December.
The situation has deteriorated so much that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said last week it would no longer enter the 6,000-acre reservation without a police escort.
