Anaheim police release bodycam officer fatally shooting a woman who was armed with a fake rifle
By: A 20-year-old woman was killed in a confrontation with Anaheim officers in which she was apparently wielding a realistic-looking BB or pellet gun, police said.
The incident happened Sunday around 9 a.m. in the 1200 block of South Anaheim Boulevard.
Police were sent to the area on a report of a person armed with a rifle.
Several officers became involved in a confrontation with a woman who appeared to be armed. Officers fired, striking her at least once with gunfire, Anaheim police said. She was treated at the scene, then transported to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Eyewitness video shows officers involved in a confrontation with a woman standing on the sidewalk in front of a Burger King near the intersection with Ball Road.
The officers can be heard repeatedly shouting "Put it down" "Put it down, or you're gonna get shot" before opening fire. After she is shot, and she is laying down on a bench, they can again be heard repeating "Drop the gun now" multiple times.
Police later identified the woman as Abigail Lopez, 20.
Anaheim police say they recovered a weapon at the scene, they described as a "A BB or pellet gun that resembled a legitimate short-barrel assault weapon."
No officers were injured. The Orange County District Attorney's office and other agencies are investigating the shooting.
Anaheim police Sgt. Jon McClintock says this is the second police shooting in Anaheim this year.
On Oct. 3, officers shot and killed an alleged sexual assault suspect armed with a knife at an ARCO gas station at Harbor Boulevard and Orangewood Drive.
The district attorney's office is handling that investigation, as well as Anaheim police's internal affairs.
"These officer-involved shootings require scrutiny. We understand that," McClintock said. "It's a very exhaustive investigation that takes place over the years."
McClintock says both officers involved in Sunday's shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave.