A former professional skateboarder, along with her neighbor, was killed in a shooting at their apartment building in Pomona last Thursday.
Veronica Lopez, 24 years old, and Richard Brady have been killed as a result of a shooting at the East Monterey Avenue complex. The police officers came to the scene at 3:20 p.m. and found Veronica and Richard with gunshot injuries in a fourth-floor hallway. Both of them died on the spot, even though paramedics tried to revive them.
The suspect for the murder of Veronica and Richard is Robert Galtman, Veronica’s boyfriend. He fled from the place after the shooting incident. Police officers found his car, a black Kia sedan, by its license plate number at 5 p.m., while it was being driven on Interstate 5 toward Sylmar.
Robert Galtman was arrested in the course of the pursuit that lasted for 90 minutes, and the bail for the criminal is set to be $3.1 million. Galtman will appear in court on Tuesday.
Lopez’s family reported to the local media that their daughter experienced domestic violence in her relationship with her boyfriend and asked her to leave several times. According to her mother, Veronica was trying to get out of this relationship before the shooting.
“I believe she was walking away. This is why this all happened,” Sheila Lopez reported to KTLA.
The family learned about the tragic accident while watching the pursuit on TV. According to Lopez’s sister, she recognized her sister’s car and dog during the TV broadcast.
“We called Pomona police, and they confirmed it with fingerprints that it was my sister,” Klarissa Lopez reported to ABC 7. “I know she didn’t deserve to get murdered. A grown man murdered my sister.”
Lopez’s father called Galtman a coward and said that they tried to help their daughter in difficult situations.
Lopez’s friends and relatives remember Richard Brady as a very kind person who was always ready to help others. His brother, David Brady, said he understood the problems his sister-in-law was facing and supported Veronica.
“They became friends. They talked and visited each other,” David Brady told the Daily Bulletin. “Unfortunately, he walked into a situation out of his control.”
Brady’s friend, Genevieve L. Bobrow, called Richard a person who always cared about other people, offering them accommodation, help, or just listening.
Online fundraising pages have been opened for both families. The page will help Brady’s two children, and another one will help to organize Veronica’s funeral and memorial service. It says that Lopez, the youngest of five sisters, makes people happy with her smiling face.
