Photo: Chief Michael Olivieri/Twitter
A young California police officer described as a ‘rising star’ was fatally shot while responding to a traffic accident last week, PEOPLE confirms.
On Thursday night, Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona, 22, responded to a three-car crash. While on the scene, she was shot and taken to a local hospital, where she died, Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said during the press conference Friday.
“This was just a routine traffic collision,” Pytel said.
The suspect rode up to the crash, in the shadows, on a bicycle before shooting Corona once, Pytel said. When she fell to the ground, the gunman unloaded an entire magazine of bullets on her.
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Officers were able to locate the suspect using information they found from a backpack he had left behind at the scene, Pytel said.
When officers surrounded the residence, the suspect exited the home wearing a bulletproof vest appearing to be unarmed. He then entered the home and came back outside wearing the vest and carrying a gun. Finally, he went back inside, pushed a couch up against the door and shot himself, Pytel said Friday.
When officers heard a gunshot, they sent a robot with a camera into the home and discovered he had killed himself.
On Saturday, authorities identified the gunman as 48-year-old Kevin Limbaugh, theSacramento Bee,NBC NewsandABC7report.
A note was found on Limbaugh’s bed: “The Davis Police department has been hitting me with ultrasonic waves meant to keep dogs from barking. I notified the press, internal affairs, and even the FBI about it. I am highly sensitive to its affect (sic) on my inner ear. I did my best to appease them, but they have continued for years and I can’t live this way anymore.”
Corona had recently graduated from the Sacramento police academy and completed training, police officials said.
She joined the Davis Police Department in 2016 as a community service officer and was sworn in as a police officer last August. She had been patrolling the city streets for only a few weeks, according to the outlets.
“She was a rising star within the department. And, I’ve known her for a couple of years. And, she started as a part-time employee volunteer,” Davis said of Corona, according to ABC7. “And, I can tell you that I haven’t seen anybody work harder in a part-time capacity and be more motivated to be a police officer than Natalie.”
Corona’s family told Fox40 she lovedher job and was aware of its dangers.
“You know we’re going to grieve, and the individual is not with us any longer, so we’re very faithful people,” her father José Merced Corona said. “I think she died doing what she loved to do. She knew that was a possibility, and I think she embraced that.”
source: people.com
