Family and friends have identified the teenage girl killed in Monday’s police shooting.
Aven Drummond, 14, was found dead, struck by gunfire, inside her southwest valley home early Monday morning, according to her sister Nevaeh Thomas.
Wednesday would have been Aven’s 15th birthday, Thomas said.
“At just 14 years old, Aven was tragically taken from this world in a horrific act of violence,” according to a GoFundMe Thomas posted. “Instead, her family is facing an unimaginable loss and trying to navigate the devastating aftermath of what happened.”
The girls’ mother, Nichole Drummond had called 911 to report that her boyfriend, later identified as 48-year-old Jason Simmons, was chasing her with a blowtorch, according to authorities.
Officals with the Metropolitan Police Department said that, around 12:30 a.m. officers entered the home, which is in the 4500 block of Pigeon Point Court, near South Buffalo Drive and Peace Way.
Body camera footage showed Zaira Venegas-Hernandez trying to get into a room Simmons had locked himself in before he fired seven rounds through the door.
A bullet went through two dozen layers of Venegas-Hernandez’s ballistic vest and caused a chest injury.
The shooting was declared a barricade, and SWAT and negotiators were called. When they reentered, they found Simmons and the teenage girl dead.
Nichole Drummond, who made it out of the home before SWAT came in, was taken to the hospital for burn injuries and a gunshot wound.
“Nichole was also a victim of this violent crime,” Thomas added. “She now faces a long and difficult road of physical and emotional recovery. To make an already unimaginable situation even more devastating, their home was intentionally set on fire, leaving Nichole and her family without a home.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewwjournal.com.
