A California Highway Patrol officer shot a woman who was allegedly wielding a knife on the northbound 71 Freeway in Chino Hills on Friday, leading to hours-long lane closures and significant traffic delays, as reported by KTLA. The incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. when officers responded to calls of a woman carrying a "large knife" and walking along the freeway's shoulder near Butterfield Ranch Road and Euclid Avenue; upon arrival, a confrontation ensued wherein the officer shot the woman after she reportedly advanced toward him.
According to NBC Los Angeles, the woman refused to comply with the officer's commands before the shooting took place. She was subsequently taken to a hospital in stable condition. The freeway closure caused significant backups, hit harder by the oncoming Memorial Day weekend traffic, with many travelers expected to hit the road for the holiday, all the northbound lanes were initially blocked, which included a section between the Butterfield Ranch Road and Euclid Avenue exits.
FOX LA noted that the SigAlert was issued around 2:30 p.m. with the closure of both north and southbound ramps at Euclid, the highway's northbound lanes finally reopened late Friday evening just before the start of the Memorial Day weekend.
Traffic conditions were exacerbated when only one lane was available for southbound travel, causing additional congestion, which was reported by CBS Los Angeles. They also conveyed that images captured by SkyCAL showed the extent of the massive traffic jam as one lane of the freeway remained closed until around 5:15 p.m., and by 5:30 p.m., officials had reopened just one northbound lane. It was not immediately clear when full functionality would return to the crucial transit route.
The identity of the woman shot by the CHP officer has yet to be revealed, and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, as detailed by Captain Salvador Suarez in a statement obtained by KTLA. The CHP is calling on anyone with further information on the incident to come forward by contacting officers at 951-712-6386.
