The half-brother of a black man found hanged in a Southern California park was killed by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday after they say he opened fire on them.
The shots were fired shortly after 4:30 p.m. in the Kern County community of Rosamond, just north of the Los Angeles County border in the Antelope Valley, Sheriff’s Department officials said.
Detectives with the sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit were tracking a man who was wanted for kidnapping, spousal assault and assault with a deadly weapon but when they tried to stop his car, he opened the door and began shooting, authorities said.
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Deputies shot and killed the man. A woman in the car was wounded in the chest and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening while a 7-year-old girl in the car wasn’t hurt, sheriff’s officials said.
The woman in the car wasn’t the accuser in the spousal assault case, authorities said.
The man was identified as Terron Jammal Boone by an attorney representing the family of Robert Fuller, a 24-year-old man who was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale last week. Officials say the death appeared to be a suicide but family members have disputed that.
This undated photo provided by the family of Robert Fuller via Najee Ali shows Robert Fuller, who was found dead Wednesday, June 10, 2020, hanging from a tree in Poncitlán Square, in Palmdale, Calif. (Courtesy of Robert Fuller Family via AP)
Palmdale is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from Rosamond.
“At this time, until we receive all of the information, the family and their legal team doesn’t have any further comment on this incident. The family respectfully asks that their privacy be respected,” attorney Jamon Hicks said in a statement.
Boone had been charged Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court with assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, domestic violence, and criminal threats.
Fuller’s body was discovered last week in a park near Palmdale City Hall. An autopsy was conducted last Friday and the county medical examiner-coroner’s office said he appeared to have died by suicide.
The finding prompted an outcry by his family, who believed he wasn’t suicidal, and community members who called for an independent investigation and autopsy. More than 1,000 people turned out for a protest and memorial Saturday around the tree where Fuller’s body was found.
The city of Palmdale issued a statement supporting an independent inquiry.
Federal authorities, including the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, said they will review local investigations into the hanging deaths of Fuller and of Malcolm Harsch, a 38-year-old homeless black man who was found hanging from a tree on May 31 in Victorville, a desert city in San Bernardino County east of Palmdale.
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Local authorities have said there is no evidence of foul play in either death but sheriffs have pledged to continue to investigate.
