Few answers have emerged three days after a Fullerton police shooting on the 91 Freeway in Anaheim left a 17-year-old female “suspect” dead.
Anaheim police on Monday declined to disclose further information about the deadly incident that shut down the freeway east of Kraemer Boulevard for several hours on Friday night.
According to a Police Department statement released on Saturday, a 17-year-old female “suspect” died in the hospital following a 7 p.m. shooting that involved a Fullerton police K-9 officer.
Initial reports indicated that a vehicle had crashed into a police K-9 vehicle, according to California Highway Patrol’s log.
The Anaheim police news release said “an item appearing to be a handgun was recovered from the scene.”
“Determination needs to be made if it was real, functional, loaded, etc.,” Anaheim police tweeted. “It looks like a handgun for sure.”
“The freeway was packed and all potential witnesses need to be interviewed first,” police said in another tweet. “We cannot risk influencing someone’s statement, by releasing details prematurely.”
The agency has not yet indicated what crime the girl was suspected of.
Although officials have not released the child’s name, a family spokesperson identified her as Hannah Linn Williams.
“We ask for prayers from the community as we work with Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jarrett Maupin, and the National Action Network to find answers to what appears to be another unjustified shooting of a young person of color,” a family statement provided by Maupin said.
“In the coming days, we will release the results of a secondary autopsy and the facts as they become known to us,” the statement continued.
The family is asking Anaheim leaders to place the officer involved on unpaid leave until the investigation is completed. They’re also calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to have the state Attorney General examine the case.
“We are pursuing all options available to secure justice,” said the family, who planned to to have a news conference on Tuesday morning. Anaheim police also said that they could release more information midweek.
Magda Rojas, a family friend, said she didn’t know how Hannah could possibly have had a gun.
“Maybe a Mickey Mouse gun or something, but not a real gun,” Rojas said. “We don’t have no clue. We don’t have real answers.”
Several officers descended on the freeway soon after the shooting, Sky5 video showed. Patrol vehicles surrounded what appeared to be a dark-gray Dodge Durango SUV facing the wrong way near the Kraemer Boulevard/Glassell Street onramp. Footage showed a Fullerton police K-9 SUV perpendicular to the Dodge.
No officers were hurt in the incident, according to authorities.
In addition to Anaheim police, who has jurisdiction of the case, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident.
Anyone with information about the shooting can call CrimeStoppers at 855-TIP-OCCS or at occrimestoppers.org.
