COCONUT CREEK, FLA. (WSVN) - Three Coconut Creek Police officers and a police K-9 were injured in, what investigators described as, an officer-involved shooting that killed a suspected car thief.
Coconut Creek Police responded to the scene of the shooting along the 4400 block of Hillsboro Boulevard, just before 8:30 p.m., Monday.
According to police, they saw a woman, later identified as 36-year-old Brittni Muldrew, driving a car that was reported stolen out of Parkland. The Boca Raton woman was stopped in a nearby shopping plaza when the shots rang out.
“Like I said, I live on the back street over here, next street over, and I was over here with the dog on the phone and all of a sudden, ‘Boom! Boom! Boom!” said witness Phil Simone. “I said, ‘Those are firecrackers.’ I’m like, ‘No, those are gunshots.’ Then, I come walking up here, and here you guys are and telling me what’s going on.”
According to police, two officers fired their weapons after Muldrew reversed the car in the direction of the officers. She would later die from her injuries.
The injured officers were transported to the hospital. Officials said their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, and they have since been discharged. The injured K-9 was taken to an animal hospital for treatment.
Late Tuesday, police identified 49-year-old Levon Lopez as the man in the passenger seat of the stolen vehicle. He has been taken to the Broward County Jail, where he faces charges of murder while engaged in a felony offense and grand theft auto.
He has since been denied bond.
The two officers who fired their guns have been placed on administrative leave.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will be investigating the shooting.
In a tweet, Coconut Creek Police said, “We will fully cooperate” with the investigation.
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