Armed, suicidal Mesa woman fatally shot by police
Oct 9, 2017, 8:29 AM | Updated: 1:15 pm
(Facebook Photo/Mesa Police Department)
(Facebook Photo/Mesa Police Department)
PHOENIX — A distraught woman in Mesa who was fatally shot by police over the weekend after she refused to drop a handgun has been identified.
Sabrina Ann Garcia, 34, died Saturday at a hospital. The armed woman had run from officers called to an apartment complex near U.S. 60 and Extension Road around 7:30 p.m. by a friend of Garcia’s who believed she was suicidal.
Mesa Detective Steve Berry said officers went to talk to Garcia and she ran out the back door of her home. They caught up with her in the courtyard, where they realized she was carrying a gun.
Despite several orders to drop the gun, she didn’t. Officers initially fired bean bags but Garcia held on to the gun. Eventually, Berry said, she turned toward the officers.
Fearing for their lives, the officers drew their service weapons and fired.
“Anytime we know … we are responding to a suicidal-person call, we have lots of specially trained officers out there who deal with those types of things, if we get that opportunity (to disarm through talking),” Berry said.
“Things escalated before they had that opportunity.”
Berry said the friend who called police had received disturbing texts from Garcia. Worried, she called police for help.
“Get them to a care facility, if that’s necessary, to get them help … that is always our first option,” Berry said.
KTAR News’ Kathy Cline contributed to this report.
