Horrific moment when police manage to save a 3-year-old toddler being held at gunpoint by his mother’s ‘very distraught’ boyfriend by shooting her dead when she refused to drop the gun
- Authorities in California said the woman was not related to the child
- She was shot, warned and shot again after barricading herself in an apartment
This is the horrifying moment police manage to save a three-year-old child being held at gunpoint by a woman they shot during a raid in San Bernardino, California.
Authorities received a call around 8 a.m. Sunday claiming Darvet Brown, 35, was holding a gun to the caller’s grandson’s head — and had already shot at least once.
San Bernardino police found Brown, who they said was “very distraught,” standing on the balcony of an apartment on the 200 block of E. 21st Street with a gun pointed at the child.
It was unclear who owned the apartment and why Brown was there. The child’s mother later confirmed Police said she was a friend, but not a family member.
The SBPD added that her behavior was “not fully understood at this time.”
At least one officer opened fire on Brown, hitting her, but she continued to hold the gun, police said. When she allegedly refused to drop the gun, police shot a second time, fatally hitting her.
Police bodycam showed the woman pointing the gun at a child as they pointed their guns at her Sunday morning at an apartment in San Bernardino, California
Police said the woman had barricaded herself in the apartment when they found her.
The caller had alerted authorities that she was hysterical and said the child was not safe with her in it.
After entering and shooting Brown, who they said was a San Bernardino resident, officers rushed to grab the baby before safely delivering him to relatives outside the apartment.
Lt. Jennifer Kohrell of the San Bernardino Police Department said Brown “had been very violent toward the residents there for quite some time before we even got there.”
Neighbor Jack Quiroz said he was in bed Sunday morning when he heard the police presence.
‘Yes, I was scared. Of course, who wouldn’t be?’ He said. ‘First I heard the helicopter and then I heard gunshots. And I came outside and I saw police everywhere.”
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective Chavez at chavez_ed@sbcity.org.
Violent crime in California increased 5.7 percent in 2022, from 468 crimes per 100,000 in 2021 to 495 last year.
While homicides fell by just over six percent, thefts (theft with violence) and aggravated assault rose by 9.9 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, the report said. Public Policy Institute of California.
The nonpartisan research group finds that violent crime across the state is up 13.5 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019. Overall, violent crime has risen steadily in recent years, with increases in six of the last eight.
Still, it’s a significant improvement from the peak of 1,115 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 1992.
According to the institute, San Mateo has seen the largest increase in violent crime, followed by Contra Costa and Sacramento.
Violent crime in San Bernardino, on the other hand, is on an overall downward trend trend this year, according to statistics released by the San Bernardino Police Department. The number of robberies in 2023 decreased by six percent compared to the figures between 2021 and 2022.
The number of serious assaults fell by 18 percent in the same period. The SBPD recorded 125 incidents this year, after an increase from 129 in 2021 to 152 in 2022.
The number of assaults with a firearm fell by 25 percent compared to 2021/2022 figures – and remained below the five-year average.
In 2023, there were three reported homicides locally, compared to 11 in 2022, 11 in 2021, 6 in 2020 and 5 in 2019.
However, the PPIC notes that San Bernardino saw a significant spike in property crime in 2022.