Authorities Friday identified a woman who was killed by Long Beach police after she fired shots at her CHP officer boyfriend and then pointed a handgun at responding cops.
The dead woman was apparently a personal trainer at a local gym and had recently started the application process to become a Long Beach police officer.
Police sent to the area of Studebaker Road and Spring Street about 11:55 p.m. Wednesday fatally shot Michele Rice, 33, of Long Beach, according to the Long Beach Police Department and the coroner’s office. Rice died at the scene.
The officers had gone to the location in response to a report of a person with a gun and shots fired, said LBPD spokeswoman Marlene Arrona.
“As (the boyfriend) left a residence and was nearing the intersection of Studebaker Road and East Spring Street in a vehicle, the female, who had left prior to him, fired several shots in his direction,” Arrona said. “The victim, who was not struck by gunfire, escaped and called police.”
Officers were already in the area and arrived within a few minutes, Arrona said.
“The victim flagged down the officers and directed them to the area where the suspect was last seen,” Arrona said. “The officers quickly located the armed female suspect, They shouted multiple commands to drop the handgun, but the suspect refused to comply with their lawful orders, pointed a handgun at the officers and an officer-involved shooting occurred.”
The officers administered life-saving measures until Long Beach Fire Department personnel arrived and pronounced the woman dead at the scene, Arrona said.
“The suspect’s handgun was recovered at the scene,” she said.
ABC7 reported that the woman was a personal trainer at a local gym, and her boyfriend is a California Highway Patrol officer. Arrona would say only that he is a CHP employee, and a CHP representative referred calls to Long Beach police.
The Long Beach Police Department told NBC4 the woman was in the early application process of applying to the Long Beach Police Department.
Studebaker Road, between Spring Street and Wardlow Road, was closed while an investigation was conducted.
—City News Service