She Heard the Crash, Ran to the Door, Was Killed by Police

'I am truly sorry,' LAPD chief says of Melyda Corado's death
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 24, 2018 12:27 PM CDT
LAPD Says Police Bullet Killed Trader Joe's Employee
A card for Trader Joe's employee Melyda Corado, who was shot and killed a day earlier at the store by a suspect being chased by police, hangs at a makeshift memorial, outside the Los Feliz Trader Joe's supermarket in Los Angeles, Sunday, July 22, 2018.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore had the toughest of jobs Tuesday: to announce that the Trader Joe's employee killed during a shootout in Los Angeles on Saturday lost her life to a bullet fired by police, not the suspect. "I am truly sorry," Moore said about 27-year-old Melyda Corado's death. "As a father, as an individual, it is unimaginable, the pain of the Corado family, and everyone that knew her. And we share that pain today." He said the officers involved will forever wrestle with the choices they made, though he believes "my officers' actions were taken to defend themselves and in direct response to the deadly threat" and therefore were appropriate. An investigation into the officers' actions is ongoing.

ABC News reports he also detailed a timeline of the crime, which was allegedly sparked by a feud between a man and his grandmother over his girlfriend staying at the grandmother's home. Moore said Gene Atkins, 28, shot his grandmother several times and ultimately led police on a chase that ended when his vehicle crashed into a pole outside the grocery store. Moore said Atkins fired at cops as he ran toward the entrance; Corado had come to the same entrance upon hearing the crash and was struck in her left arm in the process. The bullet entered her body. "Miss Corado ran back inside the store and collapsed behind the manager’s desk," Moore said, per the Los Angeles Times. CBS Los Angeles reports that, among other charges, Atkins faces one count of murder in connection with Corado's death. (More LAPD stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X