Full Notification

On 7/31/15, at 0857 hours, deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office responded to 125 Taylor Street, Bodega Bay, on the report of shots fired. Deputies responded to the area and found a female laying in the street in front of the residence. The female had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was unconscious.

The deputies developed a rescue plan for the injured female and ultimately brought her to a safe location for medical treatment. The female was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with serious injuries.

As this incident developed, it was determined that three females from a neighboring county were sleeping inside the residence when they were awakened by a male intruder. The male was armed with a firearm and he held all three female victims captive. The male, also from an adjoining county, was the ex-boyfriend of one of the three female victims and was the restrained party on a domestic violence restraining order against one of the females.

As the females were being held captive, a fight ensued over the firearm which allowed the three females to flee the residence on foot. As they fled, one female victim was shot multiple times in the street fronting the residence while the other two were able to run for safety. A witness reported hearing multiple gunshots and also reported hearing one shot from the inside of the residence.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit responded to the scene and set up a perimeter around the residence. After multiple attempts to initiate contact with the suspect were not successful, the SWAT team members were able to look inside the residence and see the suspect sitting on a couch suffering from what appeared to be a self- inflicted gunshot wound. The SWAT team entered the residence and confirmed that the suspect was deceased. A firearm, believed to be a shotgun, was recovered in close proximity to the deceased suspect.

The name of the deceased suspect will not be released pending the notification of his next of kin. The names of the three victim’s will not be released as the incident involved domestic violence and the victims have requested confidentiality.

Any further media inquiries should be directed to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit at 707-565-2185.

Press Release Prepared By:
Greg Miller, Lieutenant, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division, 707-565-3941
Crime Report Number; SCY-150731-009