Suspect arrested in Corona movie theater shooting during showing of 'The Forever Purge'
CORONA, Calif. (KABC) -- A suspect has been arrested in the deadly movie theater shooting in Corona that left an 18-year-old woman dead and a 19-year-old TikTok influencer on life support.
Joseph Jimenez, 20, was arrested Tuesday night by Corona police and booked for murder, attempted murder and robbery. Authorities say it appeared to be an unprovoked attack and believe he acted alone.
The shooting happened just before midnight Monday at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings during a showing of "The Forever Purge."
The woman who died was identified as Rylee Goodrich, 18, of Corona. The man who was wounded was identified as Anthony Barajas, 19, of Corona. The two were together inside the theater seeing a 9:35 p.m. showing of the film when they were shot.
"Officers arrived on scene, they located two people down suffering from gunshot wounds inside the theater," said Officer Tobias Kouroubacalis of the Corona Police Department. "I'm being told right now there were six tickets purchased for that movie showing."
At a Wednesday press conference, Kouroubacalis said Jimenez was in possession of a ticket for that showing, but did not clarify if it was purchased or obtained another way.
So far, there is no indication that the suspect knew the victims or had any prior contact with them, he added.
On Tuesday around 10:30 p.m., detectives served a search warrant in the 19000 block of Envoy in El Cerrito, where Jimenez lived, police said.
Kouroubacalis did not release specifics as to what led to locating the suspect but said witnesses "in the area" came forward with information that helped them.
"During the search of the residence, a firearm and additional evidence related to the crime scene were discovered. The firearm matched the caliber of the weapon used in the murder," police stated in a press release.
Jimenez was arrested in an RV trailer, where police say they also found Goodrich's wallet.
When asked whether Jimenez has any mental health issues, police said that's unknown. And when asked whether the extreme violence in the movie played any role in the suspect's actions, police said they "have not learned anything of that type that's come into play for this particular scenario."
Goodrich attended Corona High and played volleyball, ran track and was also a cheerleader. She was given a scholarship to Grand Canyon University in its STEM program. She was home for the summer visiting family in Corona and had recently started an eyelash business.
Goodrich's cousin Ashley Cole described her loved one as someone with a "great heart" and motivated to help others, including her family and younger sister.
Barajas was a standout soccer player at Mater Dei High. He has many followers on his social media pages, with more than 40,000 followers on his Instagram and more than 920,000 followers on TikTok.
GoFundMe pages have been set up for Goodrich and Barajas.
Jimenez is being held on $2 million bail.
