SANTA BARBARA, CA – At 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at the home of actor Ron Ely. Upon arrival, deputies contacted Ron Ely and discovered his wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, 62, deceased with multiple stab wounds inside the home. While on scene, deputies identified the murder suspect as the Elys’ son, 30-year-old Cameron Ely.

Deputies searched the residence and surrounding area for Cameron Ely. During the search, the murder suspect was located outside the home. The suspect told deputies that he had a gun, advanced towards the deputies, and motioned with his hands as if he were drawing a weapon. In response, four deputies fired a total of 24 rounds from their service weapons, fatally wounding the suspect. When deputies were able to safely approached Cameron using a ballistic shield, they found that he had feigned being armed and did not have a weapon. None of the deputies were injured during the confrontation with the suspect.

The four deputies involved in the shooting are:

SANTA BARBARA, CA – At 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call at the home of actor Ron Ely. Upon arrival, deputies contacted Ron Ely and discovered his wife, Valerie Lundeen Ely, 62, deceased with multiple stab wounds inside the home. While on scene, deputies identified the suspect as the Elys’ son, 30-year-old Cameron Ely.

Deputies searched the residence and surrounding area for Cameron Ely. During the search, the suspect was located outside the home. He posed a threat and in response 4 deputies fired their service weapons at the suspect, fatally wounding him. No deputies were injured during the confrontation with the suspect.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is conducting criminal, coroner’s, and administrative investigations of this incident. Autopsies of both the victim and the suspect are pending. The names of the involved deputies will be released at a later date.