Authorities have identified the girl who died of a gunshot wound inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as 17-year-old Johanna González and classified her death as a suicide, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
On March 25, officers were called to a home in City of Industry, a small city 20 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, because of a teen who was allegedly suffering a mental health crisis. When they arrived, Gonzalez, who was being raised by an aunt and uncle, was already gone.
When the teen arrived at the City of Industry station, she ran toward an officer’s gun, grabbed it and shot herself, the Sheriff’s Department said. However, attorney Delaney Miller, who represents the family, questioned whether Gonzalez had the ability to “take a holstered gun from the hands of a trained law enforcement officer,” according to ABC7 News in Los Angeles. gun” expressed doubt.
“Knowing her size and physical abilities, I find it hard to believe that she would be able to disarm an officer who properly put away his weapon,” Miller, who is also the adoptive parent of one of Gonzalez’s siblings, told ABC7 .
Miller added that they will request all evidence from the Sheriff’s Department and will conduct their own independent investigation.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help pay for the teen’s funeral and had raised more than $2,700 as of Thursday. Gonzalez is originally from La Puente, just outside of City of Industry. According to ABC7, her father is deceased and her mother is in El Salvador.
“she and [my] The daughters have a very close relationship. She’s a sweet girl,” Miller said. “I hope she’s strong because none of us saw anything like this coming.”
