The Antelope Valley Times

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Woman shot to death in Lancaster

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Smoke Shack shooting death 1

LANCASTER — Sheriff’s homicide detectives late Sunday night were still at the scene where a woman was shot to death in east Lancaster.

The incident reportedly happened around 4:45 p.m. at the Smoke Shack in the 100 Block of East Avenue J.

A female employee, believed to be in her 20s, was shot inside the store, according to lead homicide detective Brown.

Brown said there were multiple employees and customers inside the store at the time of the shooting, but the incident was not the result of a robbery.

A crime lab technician inspects several shotgun shells recovered at the scene.
A crime lab technician inspects several shotgun shells recovered at the scene.

Detectives could be seen removing the shells from a loaded shotgun in front of the store Sunday evening. Brown confirmed the shotgun was possibly the weapon used in the shooting, but could not release any further details.

“We have no suspects detained, but we have several people, who are cooperating, who are waiting to be interviewed by us so that we can determine what happened,” Brown said Sunday night.

The victim was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. The woman’s name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.

We will have more information on this incident as soon as it becomes available.

UPDATED 1/27 @11:30 p.m.: ABC News reports a fellow employee is in custody for the shooting, and the man claims the shooting was an accident. The man told investigators he was moving the shotgun used to protect the store when it went off and struck the female employee in the chest, according to ABC 7. Detectives are still interviewing the male employee and are not releasing any details until a preliminary investigation is completed.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

48 comments for "Woman shot to death in Lancaster"

  1. Something is going on in these smoke shops. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. I Would like to know why the cops in this town are so friendly with these people? Why would people trained to use firearms not read through this BS!! He should have been arrested on the spot!!!!! If it was such an accident why did he have to lie? clearly it was no accident.

  2. Something is going on in these smoke shops. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. I Would like to know why the cops in this town are so friendly with these people? Why would people trained to use firearms not read through this BS!! He should have been arrested on the spot. They know better than anyone in order to shoot any gun the safety has to be off, a round loaded into the chamber, and the trigger squeezed in order for a gun to discharge!!!

  3. Thats bull[removed] u people in that store planned it i live right down the street n u dope dealing trash in that store [removed] bastards i liked her she was cool that was all setup n off camera really u guysn liyiing

  7. This was and is a very unfortunate event in our town and the lives of the people this young woman touched.
    I don’t understand why anytime someone get shot senselessly everyone wants to be like … “guns kill people” then of course you have your gun enthusiasts that are like protect our second amendment, ” what’s going to protect us from criminals?”. When the fact is the second amendment was put in place not to protect us from each other. But the Government… If we ban firearms across America because a few dummies… ( because lets be honest the amount of firearm accidents and tragedies , such as Sandy Hook and the current “accident” are grossly fewer then the instances in which firearms save lives) What’s to protect us from a fate not unlike 1940’s Germany???

  9. I am in shock!!! I can not believe this happened..condolences to the family..
    This had to be an accident :(

      • yeah especially right there on the cornor of J and division one of the “hottest” corners in town

      • What does that have to do with anything? This could have been your mother, sister, daughter, or friend. Have some respect! An innocent life was taken yesterday. A mother lost her daughter and families are grieving. The location is irrelevant.

    • I am not in shock bc of the location…
      There have been many shooting in that plaza and it is
      Getto as fuc* in that spot!! Even the gas station had someone shot and killed in it
      And they have been held up to.. That’s besides the point y’all need to think about the victims family
      And stop making this in to gun controll… Leave yr condolences at least!!
      Or go leave some flowers and candles we as a community need to show some support and some respect!!!
      I challenge you as a community show yr support…

  10. All of your comments are so bad. I knew this young lady she lived with me for a while. She did not have an easy life but she was trying hard to turn her life around. She was very young. This is about the death of her life not about gun control. Be more respectful. This is horribly and very painful for those of us who knew her.

    • I went to school with her and hung out with her a couple times she did have a struggling life but she was doing better my deepest condolences go out to her family in grief and IM glad I got to know her and be her friend <3

    • Who are you to judge whether comments made here are good or bad after all isn’t this why it’s called a forum in the first place?

  11. So unfortunate. That being said there are several things the man did wrong if the story is true.
    1. Shouldnt have been a round in the chamber
    2. Why wasnt the safety on
    3. Why have your finger anywhere near the trigger
    4. Never point the muzzle at anything you dont want to kill

    I know William loves to point and say see, but the beautiful thing about the constitution is that I dont lose my rights because someone else is an idiot.

    • Why would you call someone who knows how to safely handle a firearm a gun nut? Your views aren’t going to save you or your loved ones when thugs kick down your door….

      • Your right, Guns dont kill people, people kill people. Those of us that have firearm cards and have been trained to use them will be safely be able to protect our own.

  12. Why the heck would they have a round chambered and why would he be moving it with his finger anywhere near the trigger, or pointed in anyone’s direction? I agree, there has to be more to this.

    • Don’t be silly Sparethepropaganda, don’t you know that guns kill people? Sheesh. [sarcasm off]

      • You think the gun would have blown off had it not been for the person behind it? Or a drunk driver behind the wheel of a vehicle and so on and so forth.

        • I agree with you dumbandblind. My comment was sarcasm thus the [brackets] and the word sarcasm off inside the [brackets].

    • There definitely is more to this. It’s called propaganda with the sole intention of blaming the firearm not the nut behind it saying ooopppssss. And of course to illicit the response of anti gun activists who would have wished they had one in the event their door was kicked in by criminals…. Stuff like that.

      • When I say “more to this” I mean… Is it possible the person was under the influence (the store does sell lots of paraphernalia)? If not, then obviously this person had no safety training in regards to handling firearms, so why was he given access to the store’s gun to begin with?

        • Since so many people apparently disagree with me, why not respond and say why you feel my post deserves the “down-votes”.

  13. I’ve ‘moved’ many guns around from place to place and they have never just simply ‘gone off’ and hit somebody in the chest unless I wanted them to ‘go off’ and do so.

    Something tells me that there is more to this story yet to be reported…

    • @Stinger I agree. This incidence will have all the anti-gun nuts come out of the woodwork again crying “see, guns do kill people.” smh

      • Forewarned,you just made my day.:-)

        William, you excel at name calling and bullying which is why most of your posts are whited out.
        Personally, I am not any kind of nut, rather a responsible person who can see the dangers in this world, which does not make me or anybody paranoid, just realistic.
        I have taken classes so that I know how to handle
        a weapon safely and keep it safe.
        Why don’t you do yourself a favor and do the same.

      • @Ottokins. I don’t live in the slums like you do Otto.

        You rear up on your hind legs like a racoon whenever any gun legislation is proposed. You’re paranoid of home invaders, paranoid of gun legislation, paranoid of being called a ‘paranoid’.

        It must hurt to be you.

      • Otto, Do you mean to say that there is a problem with calling the Police who are being paid to Protect and Serve?

      • There’s a problem, Glady, when you need the cops but they’re five minutes away, and you might need 10 rounds to take care of the problem that may be terminal in 30 seconds…..but the libs would like you to play it safe and limit you to only seven….for the safety of your community. Get it?

  14. I dnt freakn understand y u people r on here making jokes out of it…..I knew this woman n she was loved very much.. Very positive n hardworking !!!!!!! U need to shut the hell up on here with all that cuz even if it was an accidental death that gun should not of been anywhere that people with no training on firearms could get it!!! Put itself in our shoes and her family’s shoes and show some [removed]respect!!!!!

    • I understand your emotional response but belting out profanities doesn’t put you in the right place either. I don’t see anyone here making jokes about the situation but rather giving out their own personal responses just like you are. So I suggest calm down and pay your respect by being civilized and non-combatant. IF there is someone you should express your heartfelt views it would be the owner of the store who placed the firearm there and maybe he or she can tell us if training was provided.

  15. ABC news just reported that she was shot by another employee with a shotgun kept in the back of the store, possibly accidental.

    • This accidental death should not have happen :0(
      If there had been a Gun. Band in California this inoccent hard working female would not have lost her life.
      I just recently lost my son so I’m healing from his death. I see no real reason why Guns are necessary in California.

      • Cars killing thousands of people annually, so why do we need cars in CA, we should ban cars… also motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards, and kitchen knifes just to be safe!

        • Oh, I see you got really mad, sorry William, I will not call you a p…s anymore, I was making a joke, but you got so mad, that made me worried about you.. Anyways, you don’t know me, I don’t know you, but I’ve got a story to tell you.. Maybe you live in “outer space”, and you don’t know much about real life, but I’ve got a news for you – YES, WE LIVE IN CRUEL WORLD, and intruders can come to our homes anytime, and they do break in on regular basis.. And this is the main reason why we need guns, lets put BS aside, all the hunting, target shooting is BS, we do need guns for our protection. I had a chance in my life to shot one moron dead, and I saved many lives that day, and if you were there, I would save your live too, despite the fact that you are an angry liberal… Let me give you a good advice – buy a gun and learn how to use it, do it now, before “intruders from outer space” chop your limbs off.

          • What you guys don’t seem to get, is that the proliferation of so many guns in the country leads to many guns in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them. Right?

            So, you, the gun lobby, the NRA and gun manufacturers have made it so that there are almost 300 million guns in the country with the problems that will ensue. Then, you guys say “I need a gun for protection” because you guys unwittingly made needing a gun a necessity because of your opposition to stringent gun laws.

            See. It’s called a self-fulfilling prophecy. It would be like a pest control company going around and placing cockroaches all over town so that everyone needed to hire the pest control company. Same with gun manufacturers.

            I guarantee you that you don’t drive with the same caution and concern for safety that you think you need regarding the ever present home invasion scenario you are so paranoid about.

        • Don’t forget to include banning smoke shops as well.
          What do they sell there anyway? Surely not cigarettes.

      • Because the gun lobby and gun manufacturers have vigorously opposed nearly all gun control legislation, millions of guns have flooded the country. Obviously, many will be in the hands of people who shouldn’t have guns but that doesn’t matter to the gun manufacturers.

        Meanwhile, many Americans, faced with the fact that there are so many guns in the hands of criminals and the mentally unstable, rush to buy guns for their own protection, protection made necessary because the gun lobby has resisted more stringent gun control in the first place.

        The gun lobby/manufacturers have created this problem yet deflect any responsibility for it.

        Say, for example, we were to take the Second Amendment at face value and that ‘it’s a right to keep and bear arms’ such as grenade launchers, bombs, WMDs, etc. Do ya think there would be regular instances of even more severe mass killings after a while simply because of the availability of those weapons?

        OK. FIRE AWAY, gun people.

        • So what do you do when someone kicks down your door and threaten to harm your loved ones? Do you discuss your viewpoints with the criminal? It is always better to have a firearm and not need it…..

      • You are right about the accidental death should have not happened.
        If there was what you said a gun ban in California then not only would you have the female employee dead but the entire staff shot by criminals whose guns are above the ban- trying to rob the store.
        I am sorry about the loss of your son. Although you have not made mention on the details of his demise but saw no real reason why guns are necessary in California I would assume he was a victim of gun violence thus what would you have done if criminals kick down your door and harm more of your family members would you have wished you had a firearm yourself? Just asking.