PACIFICA, CA - Authorities with the Pacifica Police Department (PPD) have released additional information including the body camera footage of a fatal officer-involved shooting.
According to CBS News, on Thursday, April 4th, PPD provided an update, which included the identification of the woman who was shot and the officers involved in the shooting. The woman is alleged to have shot her son during a confrontation prior to police arriving on scene. The female suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Michelle Arrais.
Police said that Arrais shot her 23-year-old son inside their apartment on the morning of March 27th. The son told authorities that he was awakened by the sound of gunshots in their apartment and his mother opening his bedroom door, shooting him twice.
After arriving on scene, police said that they saw Arrais driving away from the apartment complex. Video footage from one of the officer's body camera shows the woman pointing a handgun at them as she attempted to leave in her SUV. At this time, the officers deployed their firearms. According to authorities, after the shooting, police recovered a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun from Arrais. Upon searching her belongings, four boxes of ammunition were found in her purse, which was on the passenger seat of her car.
First responders provided life-saving measures, but Arrais was pronounced dead at the scene. The son was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. During a preliminary search of the apartment, police said they found the family's dog dead from gunshot wounds. Investigators believe that Arrais killed their dog before shooting her son.
In a statement, Chief Maria Sarasua said, "It is always tragic when law enforcement intervenes with deadly force, regardless of the circumstances. It impacts the family involved in the incident, our community, and the members of our police department. As police chief, I am committed to ensuring that all involved are treated with care and compassion while ensuring a full and thorough investigation into what occurred."
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is investigating the officer-involved shooting and Pacifica Police are conducting their own internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting, as is protocol for all officer-involved shootings. PPD is also leading the criminal investigation into the initial incident with Arrais and her son.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in a statement, "She had a firearm, it was an operable firearm and everybody knows if you pull a weapon like that, there's a very reasonable chance it's going to be responded to with lethal force by the officers. There is a reasonable amount of body cam footage. I've seen some of it and it will be very important to us in discerning what exactly happened during that, very quick, we're talking about something that happened in a matter of just a few seconds."
Reporters with KRON4 spoke with Arrais' daughter who said that her mother has never been violent and that the night before the shooting, they were all celebrating her brother's birthday. That night is when they all learned that Arrais had purchased a gun. The family said they tried to convince her to return it, but she did not do so.
The two officers involved in the fatal shooting of Arrais have been identified as Cpl. Hayden Fry and Officer Kevin Contreras. Both officers reportedly discharged their firearms once Arrais pointed her loaded 9mm at them. Fry has been with the department for eight years and Contreras joined in 2023 after close to six years prior law enforcement experience.
According to CBS News, on Thursday, April 4th, PPD provided an update, which included the identification of the woman who was shot and the officers involved in the shooting. The woman is alleged to have shot her son during a confrontation prior to police arriving on scene. The female suspect has been identified as 50-year-old Michelle Arrais.
Police said that Arrais shot her 23-year-old son inside their apartment on the morning of March 27th. The son told authorities that he was awakened by the sound of gunshots in their apartment and his mother opening his bedroom door, shooting him twice.
After arriving on scene, police said that they saw Arrais driving away from the apartment complex. Video footage from one of the officer's body camera shows the woman pointing a handgun at them as she attempted to leave in her SUV. At this time, the officers deployed their firearms. According to authorities, after the shooting, police recovered a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun from Arrais. Upon searching her belongings, four boxes of ammunition were found in her purse, which was on the passenger seat of her car.
First responders provided life-saving measures, but Arrais was pronounced dead at the scene. The son was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. During a preliminary search of the apartment, police said they found the family's dog dead from gunshot wounds. Investigators believe that Arrais killed their dog before shooting her son.
In a statement, Chief Maria Sarasua said, "It is always tragic when law enforcement intervenes with deadly force, regardless of the circumstances. It impacts the family involved in the incident, our community, and the members of our police department. As police chief, I am committed to ensuring that all involved are treated with care and compassion while ensuring a full and thorough investigation into what occurred."
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is investigating the officer-involved shooting and Pacifica Police are conducting their own internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting, as is protocol for all officer-involved shootings. PPD is also leading the criminal investigation into the initial incident with Arrais and her son.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in a statement, "She had a firearm, it was an operable firearm and everybody knows if you pull a weapon like that, there's a very reasonable chance it's going to be responded to with lethal force by the officers. There is a reasonable amount of body cam footage. I've seen some of it and it will be very important to us in discerning what exactly happened during that, very quick, we're talking about something that happened in a matter of just a few seconds."
Reporters with KRON4 spoke with Arrais' daughter who said that her mother has never been violent and that the night before the shooting, they were all celebrating her brother's birthday. That night is when they all learned that Arrais had purchased a gun. The family said they tried to convince her to return it, but she did not do so.
The two officers involved in the fatal shooting of Arrais have been identified as Cpl. Hayden Fry and Officer Kevin Contreras. Both officers reportedly discharged their firearms once Arrais pointed her loaded 9mm at them. Fry has been with the department for eight years and Contreras joined in 2023 after close to six years prior law enforcement experience.
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Comments
2024-04-08T05:30-0500 | Comment by: Jim
Question: What 'triggered' this incident? No pun intrnded.