A California mother of a 17-month-old toddler boy is dead after her former boyfriend allegedly shot her down during what was supposed to be a routine child custody exchange in front of a police station.
NBC 10 reports that 27-year-old Brenda Renteria arrived at the Hawthorne Police Department station off of Hawthorne Boulevard, at around 6 p.m. on Sunday to pick her son up from his father, 30-year-old Jacob Munn. The little boy was inside the police station waiting for his mom but as she approached, Munn reportedly got out of his car with a shotgun and opened fire.
The child was not harmed during the incident, but Renteria died at the scene. The victim was afraid of Munn, according to CBS Los Angeles, and brought her mother with her during the exchange to feel safer.
Female killed in front of the HPD station. Suspect vehicle located abandoned in the area of 133/Hawthorne. We are actively searching for the suspect. This is an officer involved shooting incident.
— Hawthorne Police (@HawthornePD) April 8, 2019
Afterward, the suspect fled in a black Chevrolet pickup truck, prompting a manhunt that ended around two hours later when authorities caught up with him off of the 4400 block of 134th Street. The suspect reportedly has a violent criminal history, according to the outlet.
“I do not know if there was a restraining order in place, or if this was just an agreed upon location for them to make the exchange,” L.A. County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Hoglund said during a Sunday night press release. “I do not know if there were any court papers involved in this.”
A relative of the victim, however, told NBC Los Angeles that the pair agreed on the police station as a place to meet since it was middle ground between their homes.
The suspect remains behind bars on $2 million bond.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Pixabay]
