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Detectives are now investigating the fatal shooting of a California teen by a Long Beach Unified School District safety officer as a homicide.
In a statement shared Thursday, the Long Beach Police Department said that Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez succumbed to her injuries on Oct. 6. “In light of this news, detectives are now investigating this matter as a homicide,” a police rep said.
Rodriguez, 18, was—per an NBC News report—taken off life support more than a week after school safety officer Eddie F. Gonzalez opened fire on a vehicle she was in. At the time of this writing, Gonzalez had not been charged in connection with the shooting, which took place late last month. Due to violating a use-of-force policy, Gonzalez has been fired from the school district.
Earlier this week, members of Rodriguez’s family made a public plea for Los Angeles County officials to pursue a criminal case against the officer. Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, the 18-year-old’s eldest brother—identified in a regional NBC report as Iran Rodriguez—said they wanted “the killer to go to jail.”
The late Manuela “Mona” Rodriguez was the mother of a five-month-old son. According to investigators, she had been in an altercation with a 15-year-old girl near Millikan High School and was leaving the area when the since-fired resource officer opened fire.
“The LBPD is conducting a criminal investigation of this incident and is sharing this information with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for their independent review,” a Long Beach Police Department rep said Thursday, adding that homicide detectives are in “regular communication” with county officials and will be sharing evidence from the ongoing investigation.
