Photo:Paul Buck/EPA/Shutterstock
Paul Buck/EPA/Shutterstock
Police officers in California fatally shot a woman who was holding a 3-year-old child at gunpoint and had fired shots inside an apartment where she had barricaded herself with the child, San Bernardino police said, according to reports.
The child was unharmed, his mother said, according toNBC Los Angeles. The mom said Brown was a friend of hers.
When officers responded to the residence, the child’s grandmother told them she feared for the boy’s life. During this time, Brown briefly emerged on the balcony, gestured a gun towards them before running back inside to lock herself in with the child,ABC 7reported, citing police.
“We don’t really understand what the purpose or the reasoning was behind the suspect’s chaotic behavior,” Lt. Jennifer Kohrell with the San Bernardino Police Department said, according to the outlet. “She had been very violent with the residents for quite some time before we even got there.”
Kohrell added that Brown barricaded herself inside the unit with the child and his father when she saw officers approaching, the outlet reported.
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“The officers knew that everyone inside that apartment — their life was in danger and they had to go resolve the situation,” Kohrell said. “So they had to kick in the door and as soon as the door opened they saw the suspect was standing over the child within just [a] feet with a gun pointed directly at the child’s head.”
After police fatally shot Brown, law enforcement rushed in to rescue the child, who was brought to his family waiting outside, say police.
source: people.com