Sean Belk
-Staff Writer-
A Signal Hill police officer shot and injured a woman on Cherry Avenue near Pacific Coast Highway on Tuesday morning after calls reported that the female suspect was holding a gun that was later discovered to be fake, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Homicide Bureau officials.
LASD officials said on Wednesday that a “weapon” was recovered at the scene. LASD Det. Steve Blagg confirmed with the Signal Tribune on Thursday that the weapon was a “replica firearm.” Details of the incident were unavailable, pending the results of an independent investigation being conducted by LASD’s Homicide Bureau and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office at the request of the Signal Hill Police Department.
At about 8:15am on Tuesday, Oct. 21, numerous calls came in to the Long Beach Police Department of a “white woman with a gun” seen at the corner of Cherry Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, said LASD Lt. Holly Francisco on Tuesday. Callers also reported that the woman was “holding a sign,” police officials confirmed.
A Signal Hill police officer heard the call and responded to the 1800 block of Cherry Avenue in Long Beach, locating a female who matched the description, she said. The woman, whom police have described as a suspect and whose name has not been released, was struck by gunfire and transported to a local hospital, Francisco said.
The woman was in “serious condition” on Tuesday afternoon and is recovering after undergoing surgery, police officials confirmed.
No police officers were injured in the shooting, and no Long Beach police officers were involved in the incident, Francisco said.
Further details surrounding the officer-involved shooting were not immediately available.
Francisco said on Tuesday that LASD officials would canvass the area to interview witnesses near the scene of the incident.
At the end of the Signal Hill City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Signal Hill Police Chief Michael Langston said the Signal Hill Police Department’s protocol for officer-involved shootings is to request that an independent investigation be conducted by LASD and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
“We’ve given them our full cooperation, and we did today,” Langston said. “And they’ve conducted a very thorough investigation.”
Chris Eftychiou, spokesperson for the Long Beach Unified School District, said in an emailed statement that Jessie Elwin Nelson Academy, located just a block away from where the incident occurred, was not put on lockdown. School-safety officials were aware of the situation, but the incident had “no effect on school operations,” he said.
