San Bernardino police fatally shoot woman pointing gun at toddler

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Officers shot and killed a woman who was pointing a gun at a toddler inside a San Bernardino home, police officials said.

San Bernardino police say the suspect, Darvet Brown, 35, was pointing a gun at a 3-year-old inside the apartment on East 21st Street when officers confronted and ultimately shot her several times. She was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The incident unfolded Sunday around 8 a.m. when police were called to the home by a grandmother who said a woman was inside the apartment threatening the caller's 3-year-old grandson.

When officers showed up, the grandmother said she feared for her grandson's life as the woman had already fired the gun inside the residence. Officers say as they were talking to the grandmother, they saw the suspect come out on the balcony and point a gun at them before running back inside and locking the door.

Officers kicked open the door and say they saw the woman standing on a bed pointing a gun at the child who was seated below her. Fearing for the boy's life, they shot the woman, wounding her. They say she refused to drop the gun and they fired again, then ran in to pull the boy to safety.

Brown was declared dead at the scene. She was not related to the child and her motive remains under investigation.

The child was not injured.

Police released a still image from bodycam video that shows the woman standing on the bed with a gun in her hand.

A law enforcement expert said this is the type of split-second, life-or-death decision that officers can face on the job.

"This is the kind of incident that ultimately results in an OIS - officer-involved shooting - that sticks with you your entire career and beyond," said Bruce Thomas, a retired investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"You don't really know what's going on, but you've been told, you hear, and once you kick in the door and go in - that first officer who engages the suspect, that is just heroic, beyond heroic."