Mona Rodriguez, 18, was shot in the head on September 27, 2021 by a school safety officer near Milliken High School in Long Beach, California. Mona will be taken off of life support soon. Mona has a 5-month-old baby.
The ruckus started during a fight at Milliken High School around 3 in the afternoon. Mona was seen fighting with a 15-year-old female student at the high school. Mona, however was not a student at the school.
A school safety officer tried to break up the fight and even threatened to use pepper spray if the fighting did not stop.
Eventually the girls stopped fighting. Mona then got into a waiting car and attempted to drive away. The officer tried to stop the car from leaving, but the car did not stop. The officer was on the side of the vehicle banging on the window/door area.
The officer then shot a bullet at the rear passenger window, the bullet struck Mona in the head.
Mona’s 20-year-old boyfriend and another male were in the vehicle. But, only Mona was shot. Long Beach Unified’s use of force policy prohibits shooting into a moving vehicle or at fleeing suspects.
Mona was rushed to the hospital, and was declared brain dead. Mona was placed on life support, but medical professionals have made the decision to take Mona off of life support in the coming days.
It is likely that Mona will die from the shooting.
The school safety officer was placed on paid administrative leave pending further investigation, officials said.
The Long Beach Unified School District released a statement saying:
“The school safety officer approached a group of individuals to investigate an altercation, and during the course of that investigation, the school safety officer discharged their duty weapon and an individual was struck by gunfire.”
If Mona dies, she will leave behind a 5 month-old daughter, several siblings, and a large family.
