By C. Harold Pierce
A former Santa Ana College student was fatally shot in front of his home by Tustin Police officers Monday, police said.
Robert Miguel Gutierrez Villa, a 23-year-old father, died of gunshot wounds at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.
Police were responding to an 11:35 a.m. 911 call for a family disturbance at the 1400 block of Nisson Road.
“When officers arrived, they were confronted with a male adult suspect armed with a knife. An officer involved shooting ensued and the suspect was struck,” said Tustin Police Sgt. Andrew Birozy on the department’s Facebook page.
Villa’s cousin, Vicenta Hernandez, questioned the shooting, writing in a Facebook post that Villa was shot four times in front of his mother, Leticia Villa.
“My aunt was left without answers for hours until Western Medical staff advised her that my cousin Robert had passed,” Hernandez wrote, adding that while Villa was not in “the best state of mind,” that Tustin Police officers “should have took different actions to put my cousin down.”
Villa’s and Hernandez’s Facebook pages have been taken down.
The Orange County District Attorney is investigating the shooting.
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