On March 27 at 7:51 a.m., an adult male reported from his apartment complex on Francisco Boulevard in Pacifica that he was shot twice in the arm by his mother, who was identified as a 50-year-old Michelle Arrais.
After realizing authorities were in the area, Arrais attempted to flee the scene by driving away in a white SUV. However, she did not get far, as police shot and killed Arrais outside of her apartment located in front of the Perfect Pour Cafe.
Residents who were in the cafe and heard the gunshots said that they heard six to eight shots coming from next door according to NBC Bay Area.
The Pacifica Police Department has body cam footage of the scene, which shows that there were two officers on each side of the white SUV that drove out of the parking lot. As Arrais was driving out, the footage shows she was pointing her firearm in the direction of both of the officers on scene. When one of them saw that she had her gun pointed toward him, he ducked for cover and shot at the car, killing Arrais on the scene.
Many people nearby or Pacifica residents who heard about the shooting were in shock, as it is a small town that is not used to experiencing these types of crimes. KTVU Fox 2 interviewed some of the Pacifica residents.
One of the residents interviewed, Adele Petit, said “I lived there since 1974, and I haven’t seen anything like this.”
NBC Bay Area also interviewed resident Chris Vickery, who was a witness to the police shooting while dropping off his daughter at school.
“When you drive away, and it hits you, any of those bullets could hit your kid,” Vickery said.
When investigating Arrais’ car, the officers claimed to have found a 9mm semi-automatic handgun with four boxes of ammunition inside of her purse.
At around 6:00 p.m., this Skyline View reporter saw the scene himself. There were officers on the sidewalk in front of Perfect Pour Cafe, as well as many police cars and an ambulance at the scene. Additionally, there appeared to be a body covered up by a tarp.
According to the Department’s news release, “The victim sustained a gunshot wound and is in stable condition at the hospital.”
He was hiding in his bathroom in the event of the police shooting according to an article from The Mercury News. The investigators claimed to have found a dead dog with gunshot wounds, which led the officers to suspect that Arrais shot the dog dead before she shot her son. The victim did not have life-threatening injuries.
