Santa Ana police fatally shot a troubled teenager armed with a knife on Sunday night. The incident also left the teenager’s mother injured and her boyfriend with stab wounds.
A call to the police was made around 10:30 p.m. by a 53-year-old man who reported that his girlfriend’s son appeared to be high or intoxicated, causing chaos in the apartment and stabbing him with a knife.
When officers arrived at the scene on South Main Street, they found a 16-year-old boy still holding the weapon. In response, the officers shot and killed him, and he died at the scene.
As Santa Ana police spokeswoman Natalie Garcia noted, “Our officers were faced with a very complex situation.” She explained that their primary goal in such family disputes is to de-escalate tensions and get cooperation from everyone involved, regardless of their age.
Garcia continued, “Unfortunately, in this situation, the 16-year-old was in possession of a deadly weapon, which led to the officer-involved shooting.”
No police officers were harmed during the incident.
Currently, investigations into the shooting are underway by the Santa Ana Police Department’s Homicide Unit, the Internal Affairs Division, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
This shooting follows an earlier incident in January when Santa Ana police shot and killed an 18-year-old driver who reached for a gun during a traffic stop.
