UPDATE Monday, March 21, 9:12am | A weapon-wielding woman who refused to stop stabbing the father of her two children and was fatally shot by a Long Beach Police officer last week has been identified, police said.
Jesuscita Ortega, 25, was pronounced dead at a local hospital last Thursday after being shot several times in the driveway of her and her boyfriend’s apartment complex by an officer responding to a call for service in the 3100 block of Pine Avenue, police said.
When the patrol officer arrived at the scene just before 2:50 p.m., he saw Ortega repeatedly slashing and stabbing a man in the head and neck area with what police initially would only describe as a sharp object. The weapon has since been identified as a piece of glass.
A Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman said the officer, who was the only law enforcement official on the scene, unsuccessfully attempted to subdue Ortega using non-lethal force before fatally shooting her.
When Ortega failed to respond to the officer’s orders to cease stabbing the man and drop her weapon, the officer zapped her with his Taser, a typically non-lethal electroshock weapon that uses an electrical current to cause neuromuscular incapacitation, LBPD spokeswoman Nancy Pratt said.
The stun gun was ineffective on Ortega, who got up and continued attacking her boyfriend after being tazed, Pratt said.
It was at this point that the officer drew his service weapon and continued to order Ortega to stop, Pratt said. As Ortega, still holding the piece of glass, turned and began to advance toward the officer, the officer fired several rounds.
Police have not confirmed how many shots the officer fired or how many times Ortega was shot, but the Press-Telegram reported that a neighbor said he heard four distinct gunshots.
The officer immediately called for paramedics for both the victim and Ortega and began performing CPR on the 31-year-old victim, police said.
The victim, who has not been identified, remained in the hospital and was in critical condition as of last Friday, according to the PT.
The boyfriend had asked a neighbor to call 911 because he feared Ortega might harm their two young children, police said.
Pratt said that the preliminary investigation did not reveal a reason for the attack. However, a comment left on the Long Beach Post’s initial post (found below) about this incident suggests Ortega may have suffered from severe mental illness.
Certain mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, can cause hallucinations that may lead to violent behavior, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
The commenter, “Dennis,” said:
Apparently the object was a piece of glass. The 25 year old girl had known mental problems. I know the family and it is not an easy time for them. Say prayers for them — her actions weren’t out of anger — they were out of mental illness. She had recenlty graduated a program to work in the nursing field and was trying her best. I am sorry the illness took this awful hold on her. I am sorry that she put the officer in the position she did. This is not a pretty or easy situation to deal with.
Thursday, March 17, 11:32pm | A Long Beach police officer shot and killed a weapon-wielding woman Thursday when she advanced toward the officer after he tazed her unsuccessfully in an attempt to stop her from attacking the father of her children, authorities said.
The incident occurred at a residence in the 3100 block of Pine Avenue Thursday just before 3 p.m., according to information provided by Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman Nancy Pratt.
When the first officer arrived at the scene, he saw a woman slashing a man in the head and neck area with a sharp object, authorities said.
The officer immediately attempted to stop the suspect using non-lethal force, including shouting at the woman to drop the weapon several times to no avail before resorting to using his Taser, authorities said.
But the Taser didn’t phase her.
“The Taser was only effective on the suspect for a few moments, and then she continued the violent assault on the victim,” Pratt said.
As the officer drew his gun, the suspect turned her focus to the officer, who was still without backup, authorities said.
Wielding the sharp object, the woman quickly advanced toward the officer. When she refused to stop, the officer, fearing for his safety, opened fire, shooting the woman several times, authorities said.
The couple was transported to a local hospital, where the woman was pronounced dead, authorities said. The man was Thursday night listed in serious but stable condition.
The couple is not married but live together and have two children, the preliminary investigation has found. Authorities said the boyfriend had asked a neighbor to call police because he feared the woman might hurt their two children.
The woman’s identity was not immediately released pending notification of next of kin.
Both children were unharmed and have been placed in the care of the county Department of Children and Family Services, authorities said.
A motive for the attack has not yet been identified.
In addition to LBPD’s investigation, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office is conducting its own independent probe, which Pratt said is routine with all officer-involved shootings.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact LBPD Homicide Detectives Mark McGuire and Greg Krabbe at 562-570-7244.