Relatives identify 17-year-old girl fatally shot by Fullerton officer in Anaheim
ANAHEIM — Relatives identified a 17-year-old girl on Monday, July 8, who was killed in an officer involved shooting on a crowded freeway in Anaheim on Friday.
Police have declined to release the teen’s name because she was a minor But, family members said Hannah Linn Williams of Anaheim was the suspect fatally shot by a Fullerton K-9 officer on Friday.
New on @NBCLA — photos of Hannah Williams, 17, shot by Fullerton K-9 Unit officer on 91 freeway Friday. Witness Renay Arnold: “She looks angry and was walking towards the officer, she raised both arms with a 9mm gun. He shot her three times.” Under investigation by @AnaheimPD pic.twitter.com/ejMUb9Pib8
— Gene Kang (@GeneNBCLA) July 9, 2019
In a statement from the family released by Rev. Jarrett Maupin of Arizona, Williams’ relatives said:
“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. In the coming days, we will release the results of a secondary autopsy and the facts as they become known to us.”
The Fullerton officer involved notified dispatchers of the shooting just after 7 p.m. Friday, according to Anaheim Police Sgt. Daron Wyatt. It happened on the eastbound Riverside (91) Freeway east of Kraemer Boulevard.
The teen was rushed to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will investigate the shooting. Fullerton police will conduct a separate administrative investigation.
Police said they recovered what appeared to be a handgun at the scene of the shooting, but authorities have not revealed whether it is an actual firearm, or a replica.
Witness Renay Arnold told NBC4 she saw Williams standing on the freeway outside of her vehicle and approaching the officer despite multiple commands by the officer to stop: “She looked angry and she was walking towards him, the officer. … She raised both arms with a 9mm gun and he had to shoot her. He shot her. Three times. Bang bang bang.”
The Anaheim Police Department tweeted Saturday afternoon: “We cannot release details that might interfere with obtaining unbiased statements from witnesses. The freeway was packed. You can help by asking anyone who witnessed the incident to call occrimestoppers 855-TIP-OCCS.”