A teen mom has been left brain dead after being shot in the head by a school safety officer as she tried to flee a fight. Mona Rodriguez, an 18-year-old student and a mother of a five-month-old child, is fighting for her life and is not expect to survive, her family confirmed. She is presently on life support.
According to police, the fight started while she was driving away from Millikan High School in Long Beach, California on Monday. The New York Post reported that the fight started between Rodriguez and another 15-year-old girl and went out of control when she was hot in the head by her own school's security officer.
Deadly Encounter
On Monday afternoon, Rodriguez got into a fight with a 15-year-old girl. After that she tried to hop into a car with her brother, 16, and the father of her child, Rafeul Chowdhury, 20.
However, she was then shot unexpectedly by the safety officer. Interestingly, police are now investigating her brother and husband to find out if they have any involvement in the fight, according to KTLA.
Cellphone video obtained by the outlet shows the officer firing two shots at the car as it nearly hits him speeding away from a parking lot. Rodriguez was immediately transported to a hospital where she was put on life support but it is unlikely that she will survive.
Long Beach Police are investigating the officer's use of legal force and the school safety officer, who has not been named, has been placed on leave.
Fighting for Justice
Rodriguez's family is now demanding justice. Speaking outside the school on Wednesday, Rodriguez's husband Chowdhury told reporters the couple had been trying to have a child for some time, according to KTLA.
"And now we do, and now she's gone," Chowdhury heartbreakingly said. "I just got to step up now and play the mother and the father role, and keep my son strong."
According to Chowdhury, the security officer had threatened the two girls that he would use pepper spray if they don't stop. The girls stopped, but the officer then fired at Rordiguez and he never threatened to use the weapon before firing.
Civil rights activist Najee Ali also spoke outside the school on Wednesday, saying there was "no excuse, no justification" for the officer's actions. "There's no excuse, no justification for this officer shooting in the rear passenger-side window of a car with a woman who's unarmed. Everyone in the car was unarmed," he said.
Long Beach police have launched an investigation but haven't made any arrests yet.
