Month: September 2025

Athena Jreij

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) — Since last weeks homicide in Palm Springs, there have been 15 recorded homicides throughout the Coachella Valley for 2025. That number is right below 2024’s count of 16 homicides.

Around September of 2024, the number was also hovering around 15 homicides Valley-wide.

For cities like Palm Springs, their homicide numbers are trending down, with five homicides in 2024 and two recorded this year. But in places like Indio, the figure rose this year, from one in 2024 to five this year. 

At PSPD, Lt. Gustavo Araiza says homicides can be unpredictable, but the department makes an effort to get ahead of the crimes by working with communities. 

“If we have an individual that is bothering somebody or harassing, and it doesn’t rise to the elements of stalking or terrorist threats, we look into that individual and dig down a little deeper, or figure out if they’re in possession of any weapons. Then we can pursue the opportunity of maybe getting a gun violence restraining order and securing those weapons,” Araiza said. 

For gang-violence, Araiza says the department has special enforcement units. 

“What they are is detectives, and they’re tasked with going out there and really getting to know the communities. So individuals or neighborhoods that might be impacted by violent crime, identifying people within that community that might be involved in that, and then, actually, stopping them when they have the opportunity to.” 

At Indio PD, Sgt. Ryan Kitchens says the department is taking full advantage of technology to stop crimes before they start. 

“We’re embracing the technology that we have at our disposal. There’s a lot of new technology that the city has implemented and authorized us to use or purchase for us, like the lock cameras. It’s been vital to helping us not only solve crimes, but help deter them as well,” Kitchens said. 

Officials say they’re also reliant on the community to catch crime before it happens. 

 “If you see something, say something, and that’s something we can follow up on.” 

For more information on last years crime trends, visit: 2024: Year in Review – Crime in the Coachella Valley. 

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Kendall Flynn

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – The City of Palm Springs hosted a community meeting Wednesday to discuss their plans for the Racquet Club Road Reconfiguration Project. The meeting focused on a Fire Response Study conducted by Kimley-Horn.

The project would configure a two-mile corridor from North Palm Canyon Drive along Racquet Club Road to Farrell Drive and Via Escuela. The project would also add bike lanes and reduce traffic to one lane in each direction.

One of the major concerns with the project is the location of Fire Station 3 within the project corridor. The station has the longest average response time of the city’s five stations.

“I have one fire engine taking care of the entire north end,” Palm Springs Fire Chief Paul Alvarado said. “So naturally the times are longer than average of seven over just over seven minutes to get on scene. So that’s already two minutes over than I want to be.”

Alvarado said he joined the community meeting on Wednesday to share his response time data and how the construction would impact crew travel.

“There are some minimal increases depending on which route you were taking,” Alvarado said. “But the longest route that we studied was from Palm Canyon to Via Escuela…they’re looking at a minute and three seconds additional.”

This can be concerning for residents and crews as every second counts in emergencies.

“A house can flashover in as little as three to five minutes. Survivability is very low,” Alvarado said. “If someone is having a heart attack and their heart stops for every minute, their ability to survive, that decreases 10% for every minute.”

As the reconfiguration project is still in the designing phase, with construction possibly starting in spring 2026, Alvarado said he’s looking at other changes that could increase the stations response time and make them more efficient.

“There’s always a way around it, and you know what we’re looking at…expanding this fire station so we can accommodate more people, more resources here and we’ll be able to meet that challenge,” Alvarado said.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear from city officials and Palm Springs Fire about the project.

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