Armed Woman Shot By Cops In Lake Forest: OCSD

LAKE FOREST, CA — Orange County Sheriff's Department deputies fatally shot a woman outside of a Lake Forest home early Wednesday morning.

As the investigation continued, officers learned that she "may have called authorities on a fake burglary call," OCSD spokeswoman Carrie Braun reported.

Early Wednesday morning, deputies responded to an "in-progress" armed burglary at a residence in the 22000 block of Loumont Drive, near the intersection of Muirlands Boulevard and Ridge Route Drive.

Arriving officers discovered an Asian woman, believed to be in her late 20s, holding "what appeared to be a gun" across the street from the home where the call originated, according to Carrie Braun of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies shouted numerous commands to the woman to drop the gun, Braun said. During the exchange, the woman was fired upon by officers. The gun found at the scene.

Medics took the woman to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Braun said.

The investigation is ongoing, and the woman's name was withheld, pending notification of her relatives.

During the incident, deputies contacted the homeowners where the original burglary in progress call was reported, Braun wrote in a prepared statement.

"The homeowners said that they did not call for assistance. Further investigation revealed that the original call might have originated from a cell phone in possession of the female who was shot, and there was no burglary attempted," Braun said. "It's unclear at this time why the woman falsely reported the crime in progress, and the investigation is ongoing."

Per protocol in shootings involving law enforcement personnel, the investigation will be handled by the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Braun said.