DAVIS, Calif. — Natalie Corona was a rising star in her police department with a sparkling smile who had followed in her father’s footsteps and became an officer, fulfilling a dream just a few months ago when her dad pinned the badge on her uniform.
On Friday, her father and a stunned community mourned the 22-year-old who was shot and killed on duty while responding to a multivehicle crash in the small college town of Davis, Calif. Investigators said she was ambushed by a gunman on a bicycle. They haven’t determined the motive for his actions.
The shooter rode up on a bicycle and opened fire as Corona was investigating a three-car crash in the town that is home to the University of California in Davis, where there has not been a fatal police shooting in nearly 60 years. She was struck in the neck.
After unloading gunshots, the suspect went to his home nearby and chatted with his roommate without “showing any sign he was involved in the incident,” Police Chief Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Friday evening.
A backpack dropped at the crime scene led officers to identify the gunman. During a standoff outside his residence, the man came out with a bulletproof vest before going back inside, and turned the gun on himself, Pytel said.
