A girl grabbed a deputy’s gun and fatally shot herself Sunday evening, March 24, during a struggle inside the lobby at the Industry Sheriff’s Station, authorities said.
It was unclear if the shooting, at around 7:40 p.m., was intentional or an accident.
For update, see: Coroner rules suicide in death of 17-year-old who shot herself in station
The girl, who ABC7 reported was 17 years old, walked up to the station lobby, at 150 Hudson Ave., and knocked on the door, sheriff’s Lt. Art Spencer said. Two deputies walked to the lobby and opened the door.
As she entered, she reached for a deputy’s holstered gun and got the weapon, the lieutenant said.
During a struggle with the deputy, Spencer said, the girl shot herself in her upper body.
Firefighters pronounced her dead at the scene.
Authorities hadn’t yet release the girl’s age and city of residence. As of Monday, the medical examiner’s office had not publicly identified her.
No shots were fired by deputies.
“The deputies are OK,” Spencer told reporters, including one with KTLA. “It is an unfortunate situation for everyone involved.”
At 7:25 p.m., before the shooting, deputies went to a call of a family disturbance in the 300 block of Clintwood Avenue in La Puente. The girl had left and it was unclear where she went, and her foster parents reported she was suffering from an apparent mental-health crisis, Spencer said.
The station is about a mile from the home.
It serves Industry, La Puente, La Habra Heights, Valinda, East and West Valinda, Bassett and Hacienda Heights.
