Red Bluff Officer Had His Gun Drawn When Shot

Investigators are looking for possible witnesses to the shooting death of a Red Bluff police officer early Tuesday.

Tehama County Undersheriff Dennis Garton says Officer Dave Mobilio was shot in the head around 1:30 a-m at a Red Bluff gas station — apparently while he filled up his patrol car.

Garton says fellow officers found Mobilio´s body around 2:30 a.m. near the gas pump — his gun drawn.

Mobilio was a four-year veteran of the police department who was involved in the department’s DARE program. He was 31 years old. He is survived by his wife and a 19-month-old son.

Garton says 35 investigators from the county sheriff’s department, police department and state officials were searching for the person who shot Mobilio.

Investigators want to question a man in his mid-20s believed to be driving a brown Oldsmobile who may have been in the area around the time of the shooting.

Garton says the shooting of a law enforcement officer in the rural county is very unusual. He says that there hasn’t been a police officer shot in his 22 years with the sheriff’s department.

Red Bluff — population 18,000 — is located about 130 miles north of Sacramento.