Who did what in California Costco Killing? Family’s fury after unarmed man is shot dead and his parents are hospitalized by an off-duty LAPD cop who claims they attacked him while he was carrying his child in the wholesale store
‘Do they look intimidating to you?’ asks the aggrieved family of an unarmed man who was killed, his parents injured by an off-duty LAPD officer who claims they attacked him while he was carrying his child inside a California Costco on June 14
Kenneth French, 32, was killed and his parents were critically injured when the off-duty LAPD officer shot at them on Friday night
Police say the officer was carrying his child inside the Costco in Corona when French attacked him
The officer, who hasn’t been named, fired his gun at French following an altercation that witnesses say took place in the freezer section
French was killed and his parents, Russell and Paola French, remain in critical conditions at hospitals after also being struck by gunfire
The shooting prompted a stampede of frightened shoppers to flee the store
Corona police stated: “Without provocation, a male unknown to the officer’s family assaulted the officer while the officer was holding his young child”
“This attack resulted in the officer firing his weapon, striking the male and two of the male’s family members, ” police stated explaining the officer shooting and critically injuring Russell and Paola French
The family members shot have not been accused of wrong doing and no one has been charged in the killing
Kenneth French, 32, was shot dead on Friday night inside a Costco in Corona, California while shopping with his parents. He was killed by an off-duty LAPD officer who claimed French attacked him
The furious family of a man shot dead in a California Costco say he was unarmed and just grocery shopping with his parents when an off-duty police officer opened fire after saying they attacked him while he was carrying his child.
Kenneth French, 32, was killed and his parents were critically injured when the off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer shot them on Friday night inside the Costco Wholesale warehouse store in Corona.
Police said the officer, who hasn’t been named, fired his gun at French following an altercation that witnesses say took place near the freezer section.
Authorities say the officer was carrying his child and that he retaliated after French attacked him.
French was killed and his parents remain in critical conditions at hospitals after also being struck by gunfire.
“The Riverside County Coroner’s Office has identified the deceased male as 32 year-old Kenneth French from Riverside,” Corona PD revealed in a press release on June 15, 2019. According to KTLA-TV, that officer works at the Los Angeles Police Department’s southwest division and was released from the hospital. His injuries were minor and the incident was described by LAPD as “an officer-involved shooting.”
Kenneth French, seen [right], with his parents was shot dead on Friday night inside a Costco in Corona, California while shopping with his parents. His parents remain hospitalized after being shot in the same altercation
Kenneth French, 32, was shot dead on Friday night inside a Costco in Corona, California while shopping with his parents. He was killed by an off-duty LAPD officer who claimed French attacked him
The officer was treated and released at a nearby hospital and the officer’s child was not injured.
Police said the off-duty officer was the only one who fired shots in the store.
Police said the officer, who hasn’t been named, fired his gun at French following an altercation that witnesses say took place near the freezer section
French’s cousin penned a Facebook post on Sunday saying the family were unfairly being painted as suspects.
‘My cousin Kenneth was killed and his parents, my aunt and uncle were also both shot and are in ICU. Do they look intimidating to you? Did he really have to shoot them all?’ Rick Shureih wrote.
‘I’m posting this picture because the stories on social media have made them out to be the suspects, and the off duty cop the victim.
‘This is a family that was unarmed and was just grocery shopping. Truth will come out! I’m sure this was a misunderstanding that got escalated for no reason!’
The shooting prompted a stampede of frightened shoppers to flee the store east of Los Angeles and seek cover inside.
Witnesses said they saw a man with a Mohawk haircut arguing with someone in the freezer section when shots rang out at least six times.
Corona police Lt. Jeff Edwards said the man involved in the argument was the one who was killed.
Kenneth French, [left], was shot dead on Friday night by an off-duty LAPD officer. His parents Russell and Paola French [right], was also injured after being shot by the same off-duty cop
The store was sealed with crime scene tape after an off-duty police officer who got into an argument with another shopper inside a Costco store in Corona on Friday night ended up shooting and killing the man and injuring his victim’s parents
Kenneth French was killed and both of his parents were injured after being struck by gunfire. Russell and Paola French remain hospitalized in critical conditions
The shooting prompted a stampede of frightened shoppers to flee the store east of Los Angeles and seek cover inside after a shopper was killed by an off-duty Los Angeles City police officer who claimed French attacked him
Shoppers and employees have since described terror and chaos when the shots rang out.
Shrieks from inside the store were heard on video recorded by shopper Nikki Tate, who had stopped by with her daughter to pick up steaks and lobsters for Father’s Day.
Tate said Saturday she was by the meat section when she heard ‘about six or seven shots’.
She dropped to the ground and crawled toward her daughter who was at the other end. They huddled until they were able to escape through a side door.
‘I saw people and heard shots and my first thought was ‘Jesus, is this another mass shooting?” she said.
‘I didn’t know if this was a random thing or a domestic thing or if this was a mass shooting. Everything was happening so fast, I just wanted to get me and my kid to safety.’ In the video, her daughter says, ‘Mommy, we need to go.’
Heavily armed police officers exit the Costco following a shooting inside the wholesale warehouse in Corona on Friday night
Chaos: Purses, cellphones and backpacks were left inside the store as panicked shoppers fled the Corona Costco shop on Friday night
Meanwhile, Christina Colis told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that she was in the produce area when she heard six to seven shots and hid with other shoppers in a refrigerated produce room.
She said her mother saw people injured on the floor.
‘I thought maybe someone dropped a bottle of wine, but then I kept hearing shots,’ shopper Will Lungo told the Press-Enterprise newspaper.
‘An employee came in and helped us out through the emergency exit.’
Witnesses told KCAL-TV that shoppers and employees rushed to the exits.
The station reported that more than 100 people were outside the store at one point.
Police said purses, cellphones and backpacks were left inside the store as panicked shoppers fled.
The official police report from Corona PD states: “Without provocation, a male unknown to the officer’s family assaulted the officer while the officer was holding his young child,” according to the Corona police statement. “This attack resulted in the officer firing his weapon, striking the male and two of the male’s family members. “The two wounded family members, later identified as the dead man’s parents Russell and Paola French, were hospitalized in critical condition Saturday, officials said.
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The involved officer, whose name was withheld, was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released a short time later. It was unclear what type of injuries he suffered or how he was assaulted. Police made no mention of any weapons used by the alleged attacker.
“The officer’s gun was the only weapon involved in the incident, contrary to earlier reports,” the Corona police statement said.
“As is standard procedure in such investigations, the Corona Police Department is working closely with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office who will be evaluating the facts and circumstances of this incident.”
The statement by Corona police did not accuse the victim’s parents, both of whom were also shot and critically injured by the off-duty officer, of any wrongdoing.
No arrests had been made Saturday, though the officer was initially detained as a possible suspect early in the investigation.
“The Department has initiated an Administrative Investigation and is working with the Corona Police Department to learn more about the incident,” the LAPD said in written
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