Police say they shot and killed a man they believe murdered a woman inside a Santa Maria apartment Friday night.
Officers were dispatched at about 9:30 p.m. to a domestic-violence incident in the 300 block of West Williams Street, according to Lt. Mark Norling.
The initial report indicated the suspect may have stabbed the victim, Norling said.
“When officers arrived, the suspect was inside the residence,” Norling said. “The suspect said he was armed with several firearms and would shoot anyone that came near the residence.
“As officers approached the residence, they engaged the suspect, and it resulted in an officer involved shooting, with the suspect being fatally wounded.”
A woman was found dead inside the residence, Norling said.
The names of the man and woman were not released.
Following the shooting, a command post was set up in front of the Dollar Tree store at 1647 N. Broadway, Lopez said.
Santa Maria police are investigating the woman’s death, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department will investigate the officer-involved shooting, Norling said.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.