Sheriff’s department identifies woman fatally shot during alleged Modesto home invasion
The woman who was fatally shot Tuesday night while allegedly trying to break into a home in unincorporated Modesto has been identified as 32-year-old Pearl Fierro, 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 Fierro, who is from Modesto, 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 Fierro was attempting to break in, the department said. They warned Fierro 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 Fierro in the torso, investigators learned. Fierro 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. The case will be submitted to the District Attorney’s office to determine the legality of the shooting, Sgt. Luke Schwartz said Wednesday evening.
A woman at the house Wednesday afternoon declined to comment on the incident.
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 July 1, 2021 at 4:50 AM.
