On the night of August 29, 2026, 31-year-old Kody Pena was working as a security guard at a private event held at the Los Banos Fairgrounds in Merced County, California. At approximately 11:12 p.m., deputies from the Merced County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the fairgrounds following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered Pena suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Despite any efforts to render aid, Kody Pena was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The investigation into the fatal shooting quickly led sheriff's detectives to identify a suspect. Gabriel Angel Salas, a 21-year-old resident of Sacramento, was named as the individual wanted in connection with Pena's murder. Authorities released a description of Salas, describing him as a Hispanic male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall with a medium build, long black hair, and hazel eyes. Law enforcement officials cautioned that Salas was to be considered armed and dangerous and was believed to be in the West Sacramento area. The public was advised not to approach him and to contact 911 immediately if he was seen.
A few days after the shooting, the search for the suspect came to a peaceful conclusion. On September 2, 2026, Gabriel Angel Salas turned himself into the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office. He was subsequently booked into the Sacramento County Jail on a murder charge for the death of Kody Pena and is being held without eligibility for bail. The investigation into the motive and the circumstances leading up to the tragic shooting is ongoing. While an arrest has been made, the case represents a somber event where a security guard lost his life while on duty, prompting a swift law enforcement response that led to the surrender of the primary suspect.
