Fatal shooting of woman in west Modesto being investigated as an act of self-defense
A fatal shooting in unincorporated Modesto on Tuesday night is being investigated as an act of self-defense after the woman who died was shot while allegedly trying to break into a couple’s home, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department said.
Deputies responded around 7:50 p.m. to the 3900 block of Blue Gum Avenue, just east of North Dakota Avenue and about 2 miles west of Highway 99, for an apparent home invasion. They found an unresponsive woman in a parked car and determined she had been fatally shot.
A preliminary investigation shows the intruder, who has not yet been identified, tried to enter the home by smashing a sliding glass door with a fire extinguisher.
The two residents called for help to nearby neighbors and grabbed a firearm once they realized the woman was attempting to break in, the department said. They warned the woman to go away, but she apparently continued the attempted break-in and threatened to kill the couple.
After the warnings didn’t work, a woman fired a single round and struck the intruder in the torso, investigators learned. The intruder then forced her way into one of the couple’s cars, where she died.
No one who lives at the home was injured.
The sheriff’s department said it is continuing to investigate the incident as self-defense, and the couple has been cooperative.
A woman at the house Wednesday afternoon declined to comment on the incident.
An autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday, and the woman’s identity will be released after her family has been notified.
Anyone with information can contact Detective Martin at 209-525-7093. They can also anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-602-7463 or through the P3 Tip mobile app.
This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 12:51 PM.
