Fullerton Woman Fatally Shoots Man, Then Kills Herself

A 47-year-old Fullerton woman fatally shot a San Clemente man outside her home Sunday afternoon, then walked back in and and used the gun to kill herself, police said.

Fullerton Police Sgt. Rich McKovich said officers were summoned to the home in the 2700 block of Terraza Place at 2:33 p.m. by a neighbor, who reported that a man had been shot.

According to the witness, the 47-year-old man was found lying on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound in the chest and asked the neighbor for medical help, McKovich said.

While the neighbor was calling paramedics, the woman walked outside and fired three shots into the man, killing him, he said.

One more gunshot was heard after the woman re-entered her home, McKovich said.

The identities of both were being withheld pending notification of relatives, McKovich said. A neighbor, however, identified the woman as longtime resident Barbara Rymer but said he didn’t know the identity of the dead man.

They Knew Each Other

The police spokesman said that the man and woman were “acquainted” but that he didn’t know the nature of their relationship.

For nearly three hours after the initial shooting, police officers and a special weapons team tried to contact the woman inside the house as the man’s body lay on the sidewalk, authorities said.

Then at 5:24 p.m., the officers stormed the house and found the woman dead in the master bedroom. McKovich said she had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest and that a six-inch revolver was found by the body.

He said officers delayed entering the house because they were uncertain about the woman’s condition.

“We approached it as a possible barricade, of her holding herself inside the house,” McKovich said. “We had no telephone contact with her. Finally, we decided to enter the house.”

Neighbors on the normally quiet street were baffled by the violence.

C.L. Strandberg, who lived down the street from the dead woman, said he only knew her by her first name, which he said was “Barbara.”

“She was a bit reclusive. I didn’t see her get out very much,” Strandberg said.

But neighbor Anthony Gaglio, 17, who said his family had lived next door to her for about 10 years, described her as “a pretty lady and very sweet.”

Anthony identified her as Barbara Rymer and said her husband, Thomas Rymer, had died only a month ago. He said he did not know who the male victim was but that he had seen the man’s car in the neighborhood the previous three days.

Anthony said he heard the shots that killed the unidentified man. “I heard one bang . . . then three more. It was just bang, bang, bang,” he said. “Then we went outside and saw the man lying on the sidewalk.”

He said another neighbor told him that the wounded man said, “It’s a crazy situation. Please call the cops,” before the woman came outside and shot him.