Woman Screaming at Home Intruder Is Shot to Death

A woman was fatally shot by a robber early Saturday while screaming at him to get out of her family’s house in rural San Bernardino County, authorities said.

Claudia Schneider, 29, was shot once in the chest as she attempted to get out of bed to confront the intruder, who was holding a teen-age boy at gunpoint, sheriff’s spokeswoman Debra Holman said.

The gunman, described as a tall, slim youth in his teens or early 20s, ran out of the house with his .20-caliber shotgun and escaped before deputies arrived.

Deputies attempted to revive Schneider before paramedics arrived, but she died within minutes.

The incident began shortly before 5 a.m. when Schneider’s father, Claude, 55, awoke to see the robber standing at the foot of his bed, demanding cash and guns.

The intruder ransacked the house and awoke Randy Edmondson, 16, a family friend who was staying at the house. Edmondson was forced at gunpoint to lead the robber through the house, deputies said.

Moments later, “Claudia Schneider awoke and began screaming that the suspect leave the residence,” Holman said. “She then attempted to get out of bed and was shot.”