Woman Killed in Police Standoff Is Identified
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VERNON — A dispute over their previous relationship led one woman to shoot another at a McDonald’s in Vernon before the assailant reportedly waved a gun at police, prompting a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department sharpshooter to open fire, authorities said Wednesday.
Gena Simental, 32, of Whittier was shot and killed by a member of the department’s special weapons team, whom she had held at bay for several hours Tuesday.
Simental had barricaded herself in a car in a parking lot on Bandini Street after she shot and wounded another woman at the nearby McDonald’s. The identity of the injured woman was not released, however she was listed in stable condition Wednesday. Sheriff’s officials said the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute.
According to Sheriff’s Deputy Bruce Thomas, Sheriff’s Department crisis negotiators tried to persuade Simental to surrender. They told her they were going to bring her a telephone so she could talk to deputies, and she motioned for members of special weapons team to come ahead.
But as deputies approached the car, officials said, the woman started to wave her gun in their direction. Fearing that the law officers’ lives were in danger, a department sharpshooter opened fire, killing the woman.
The gun believed to have been used in the earlier shooting was found in the car, officials said.
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