A half-brother of Robert Fuller, the man who was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale, California, last week, was fatally shot by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputies Wednesday afternoon.
The lawyer representing Fuller's family confirmed that Terron Jammal Boone, Fuller's half-brother, was killed during a shootout with deputies in Rosamund. "This afternoon I had to notify the sisters of Robert Fuller that their half-brother Terron Jammal Boone was killed by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies in Kern County," attorney Jamon Hicks said in a statement.
Boone Wanted Information on Fuller's Death
Detectives said they were looking for a suspect involved in kidnapping, spousal assault and assault with a deadly weapon when they spotted a man in a Jeep in Rosamund fitting the suspect's description. After following the individual for some time, they attempted a traffic stop as a woman and a 7-year-old child were also in the vehicle.
They said the suspect then opened the door and started firing at deputies, who returned fire, fatally striking Boone. Boone was named in a criminal complaint filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court that alleged assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, domestic violence and criminal threats.
The suspect was wanted for holding a woman against her will in an attempt to get information about Fuller's death, according to sources. The woman in the driving seat of the vehicle was also shot in the chest but is expected to survive. However, investigators noted that the woman is not the victim in the assault case. The 7-year-old girl was unharmed.
Doorbell video footage shared on Twitter captured some of the audio of the encounter, including the sound of multiple shots being fired.
Fuller's Death and Recent String of 'Suicides'
Fuller, 24, was found hanging from a tree with a rope around his neck outside Palmdale City Hall in Palmdale, California, by a passerby early morning on June 10. Police said there were no signs of a struggle at the scene and reported Fuller's death as an apparent suicide.
However, community members and the families of the deceased were not convinced and demanded further investigation into the deaths. As previously reported, officials on Monday announced that state and federal authorities are also investigating Fuller's death from a "homicide," perspective, which was initially ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, a determination that has since been rolled back.
Fuller's death is one of many such incidents that have been reported in California and Texas in recent days. Some 10 days before Fuller was found dead, 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch, another Black man, was found dead in similar circumstances.
On Monday, a Hispanic man was found hanging from a tree in a vacant lot in the Shady Acres neighborhood of Houston, Texas. On Wednesday, another black teenager was found in a similar condition outside an elementary school in Spring, Texas, located 22 miles north of Houston.
