A “vibrant” woman was killed after her boyfriend opened fire inside a California apartment complex, according to police.
The woman, identified by family as 24-year-old Veronica Lopez, was found suffering from gunshot wounds in the hallway of a Pomona, California, apartment building Thursday afternoon, police said. Another man, identified by media reports as 48-year-old Richard Brady, was also shot. They both died from their injuries.
Lopez had been dating the suspected gunman, 48-year-old Robert Galtman, for two years, according to ABC 7.
“Veronica was a wonderful, wonderful daughter. Very vibrant, happy and a go-getter,” her mother, Sheila Lopez, told the outlet.
Galtman was taken into custody Thursday evening following an hours-long, high-speed chase with California Highway Patrol officers. Lopez’s family described the shooting as a “domestic violence incident” on a GoFundMe page to raise funds for funeral expenses.
“What should have been an ordinary day turned into a nightmare that no family should ever have to endure. We are now left trying to navigate the overwhelming grief of losing someone we loved so deeply,” her family wrote.
The fundraiser has already raised more than $5,000
Lopez’s mother believes her daughter was in an abusive relationship and Brady was trying to help her, she told KTLA.
“I believe she was walking away,” she said. “I think she should’ve just walked away. This is why this all happened.”
Her father, Coby Lopez, said he wants justice for her death.
“He killed two people, I want double life,” he told ABC7. “We don’t know how we’re going to go on, but we do have four other daughters. We have a life that we still have to maintain. And just a picture in our head of her smiling, that’s never going to go away.”
Lopez, the youngest of five girls, was described as “full of life, love, and dreams for the future.”
“Her smile could light up a room, and she had a way of making everyone around her feel loved and valued. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and so much more to those who knew her. The pain of losing her is unimaginable, and our hearts are broken,” her family wrote on the GoFundMe page.
Galtman’s bail has been set at $3.1 million, and he’s expected to appear in court Tuesday, according to public jail records. It’s unclear whether he’s obtained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
The Independent has contacted the Pomona Police Department and California Highway Patrol for comment.
