VICTORVILLE, Calif. — A 91-year-old woman who was reportedly armed with a shotgun and shot by deputies outside her Spring Valley Lake home Saturday morning succumbed to her injuries Monday morning, authorities said.
Betty Francois was pronounced dead at the hospital at 6:15 a.m., according to a press release by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies responded to a 911 call on Saturday after receiving reports of possible intruders attempting to break into a home in the Spring Valley Lake community.
They were met by Francois. She came out the front door of the home armed with a shotgun, officials said.
“Deputies gave her commands to drop the gun, then she pointed the gun at the deputies, and a deputy-involved shooting occurred,” the department press release said.
Following the shooting, Francois was airlifted to Colton’s Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, Jodi Miller, confirmed Francois lived at the home, according to the Victorville Daily Press. A relative told the news organization that she was legally blind and deaf.
Spring Valley Lake is a community located in the high desert of Southern California, about 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles.
