TUSTIN, CA — Tustin police fatally shot a man armed with a knife Monday afternoon after officers responding to a reported domestic incident found an unresponsive woman who was already dead inside an apartment, authorities said.
The shooting at the Briarwood Apartments left investigators examining two deaths and several unanswered questions, including how the woman died and what relationship she had with the man. Police said the original call was upgraded to a possible homicide before officers arrived. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is separately investigating the police shooting.
Officers were sent to the apartment complex in the 1400 block of Walnut Avenue shortly after 2:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 24, according to the Tustin Police Department. Police described the initial report as a domestic incident that was later updated to a possible homicide.
Officers encountered a man at the residence and saw a woman lying unresponsive on the floor. Police said the man then moved toward officers while holding a knife. An officer-involved shooting followed.
Officers immediately began trying to save the man’s life, but he died at the scene. Police did not disclose how many shots were fired, how many officers fired their weapons or how far the man was from officers when the shooting occurred. No officers were reported injured in the initial accounts.
Investigators then confirmed that the woman inside the residence was dead. Police said she may have been dead for some time before officers reached the apartment, but authorities had not released a more specific estimate.
Her cause and manner of death had not been publicly announced, and police had not explained what information caused the original domestic incident call to be changed to a possible homicide.
Authorities also had not identified either person or released their ages. Police said the relationship between the man and woman remained under investigation. Although some neighbors described them as a couple, police had not publicly confirmed that account.
Authorities also had not said whether the knife was recovered, whether other weapons were found in the apartment or whether investigators believe anyone else was involved in the woman’s death.
The police response quickly transformed the residential complex into a major crime scene. Aerial video showed officers gathered near apartments surrounding the community’s pool, with yellow crime-scene tape restricting access to part of the property.
Resident Matthew Padilla said officers moved quickly toward the apartment and breached the door. Other residents said they heard what sounded like several gunshots before seeing emergency vehicles arrive.
Lindsay Bebout said she heard the shots but initially thought the noise might have been fireworks. Within minutes, she said, sirens and the growing police presence made clear that something more serious had happened.
Those accounts offered a picture of the response from outside the apartment but did not establish what occurred inside before police arrived or during the seconds immediately before the shooting.
Several residents told local television reporters that arguments had previously been heard from the apartment and that police had been called there before. Those statements had not been independently confirmed by authorities.
One neighbor described the incident as involving a husband and wife, but the Police Department said the relationship between the two dead people had not yet been publicly established.
That distinction remains important as detectives reconstruct the events leading to the woman’s death. Police had not announced whether investigators found prior reports tied to the residence, whether anyone else witnessed the earlier domestic incident or who contacted authorities Monday.
Investigators also had not released information about the woman’s injuries, leaving unanswered questions about when and how she died and what evidence led police to treat the call as a potential homicide before entering the home.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office sent investigators to the scene and opened an independent review of the officer-involved shooting. That review is separate from the investigation into the woman’s death and will focus on the circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force.
Police had not announced the name of the officer or officers directly involved or said whether body-worn camera footage captured the confrontation. No timetable had been given for releasing video, dispatch recordings or other evidence.
At the Briarwood Apartments, residents described the area as normally quiet and said the sudden concentration of officers, emergency vehicles and crime-scene tape was unsettling.
Investigators remained at the complex for hours as detectives documented the residence and surrounding area. Authorities had not disclosed whether they collected surveillance footage from the property or nearby locations.
The case now involves two distinct but related investigations. Tustin detectives are working to determine the circumstances of the woman’s death, including when and how she died and whether the man shot by officers was responsible.
Separately, investigators with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will evaluate the police shooting.
Authorities had not announced any criminal charges because both people found at the scene were dead, and police had not identified another suspect. Officials also had not announced when additional details would be released.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 25, authorities had released no identities, autopsy findings or video from the encounter. Investigators continued working to determine how the woman died and what led to the deadly confrontation inside the Walnut Avenue apartment.