A 54-year-old woman, identified as Tamica Gant Lawrence, was tragically shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend during a violent domestic dispute in Bellflower on Tuesday night, October 15, 2024. The incident occurred in Lawrence’s apartment on Artesia Boulevard, where her adult son was also wounded in the attack before the ex-boyfriend turned the gun on himself.
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, deputies responded to a shots fired call at around 11:30 p.m. Upon arrival, they encountered Lawrence’s 26-year-old son, who had been shot in the hip. He reported that the suspect, subject to a restraining order filed earlier that day, had forced entry into the apartment, shot him, and then proceeded to his mother’s room.
Lawrence’s son heard his mother scream and then another gunshot as he fled the apartment. While deputies were attending to the injured son, they heard a single gunshot from inside the apartment. Upon entering, they discovered Lawrence dead from a gunshot wound to the head and the suspect, a 59-year-old man, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Lawrence had filed a restraining order earlier that day at the Whittier courthouse, seeking protection for herself and her son. The ex-boyfriend violated the order just hours later, resulting in the tragic deaths.
The son was transported to a nearby hospital and is expected to recover from his injuries.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department urges anyone with information to contact their Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.