Araceli Arias

How they died

Deadly force

Police responded to reports of a woman with a gun threatening to kill herself in the backyard of a home shortly after 2 p.m. The woman was holding a machete and a handgun, police said. Officers arrived and saw a man and woman struggling over the firearm. Fearing the woman would harm the man, officers and a police dog entered the backyard. Once inside the backyard, a dog attacked the police dog, and officers shot and killed the family pet. Officers found the woman armed with a handgun and metal pipe. She advanced toward the officers and refused to put down her weapons, and police shot and killed her.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Araceli Arias, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources