A man with apparently untreated mental illness was fatally shot by Walnut Creek police just after midnight Thursday in a residential area, and his mother is blaming the county.
KTVU had the news this morning that Walnut Creek police shot and killed a suspect some time after midnight Thursday at the specific address 1907 Alvarado Avenue. It was initially unknown why police opened fire, and what the suspect was accused of, withh only a vague Facebook post from the Walnut Creek Police Department.
“Walnut Creek Police Department is investigating an officer-involved shooting (OIS) that occurred earlier this morning in the area of Alvarado Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue,” that department posted at 2:41 am Thursday.
KRON4 had some additional details that a neighbor had heard four gunshots fired, and that the coroner carried off a body at around 7 am.
One update from 8:29 am Thursday from KGO said, “As of 8 a.m., police activity has concluded at the scene and officers have cleared the area.”
Since Thursday morning, the mother of the victim has come forward, identifying him as 46-year-old Tony Pererya. Pererya reportedly suffered from schizophrenia, as mother Annie Pererya tells NBC Bay Area, and was shining a flashlight into neighbors' cars and homes prior to the shooting. He then allegedly pointed a gun at police.
The mother said that earlier this month she had warned the Walnut Creek Police chief about her son's behavior, and the possibility of suicide by cop. She said her son had been refusing to take his medication, and she partly blames the county for not forcing him to be medicated.
"I have a heavy heart because I've spent so many years advocating for this, and it happens to my own son," Annie Pererya said, per NBC Bay Area.
Related: Double Homicide Shocks Walnut Creek, Two Women Found Dead Inside Home [SFist]
Image: Walnut Creek Police Department via Facebook
