The LAPD responded to a shooting-in-progress call at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
When police arrived on the 10000 block of South Anzac Avenue, 56-year-old Brenda Williams fired shots at her daughter and grandchildren inside their home, according to the LAPD.
Nobody inside the home was injured. Police said Williams was outside with her family when they arrived. She allegedly aimed a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun at a neighbor. That's when officers ordered her to put down the gun.
"They directed her to drop the weapon," said LAPD Sgt. Mitzi Grasso. "The suspect pointed her weapon at the woman across the street. So the officers fired, striking Ms. Williams a number of times. Anytime something like this occurs it is tragic. And we are hoping that we can continue with our community outreach, and that everybody understands the nature of the incident and why this occurred."
It is unclear what prompted the initial shooting inside the home, or how many times Williams was shot by police. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Three officers were involved in the shooting. Williams' family did not want to be on camera but said that she was deaf.
That was the second officer-involved shooting in Watts Wednesday in a period of approximately 12 hours. At approximately 8:20 a.m., 46-year-old Jose Solario Abraham was shot and killed by police when he allegedly pointed a gun at officers.
The LAPD said officers were called to a home on the 1700 block of East 115th Street for shots fired inside a house. A neighbor said that Abraham may have shot at his house.
Police said when they confronted Abraham he was armed with a knife and a loaded single-barrel shotgun. He allegedly pointed the gun at officers and refused to drop the weapon.
The LAPD said that at this early point in both use-of-force investigations, it appears that officers followed procedure. The investigations are ongoing. The officers involved, as well as witnesses, were interviewed at both scenes.
