A family in Southern California is grappling with heartbreak after their cherished daughter and sister was tragically shot and killed in a Pomona apartment complex. The family discovered the horrifying news while watching a live police pursuit on television.
Veronica Lopez, aged 24, became a victim of a fatal shooting on Thursday afternoon, in what authorities are describing as a double homicide. It is alleged her boyfriend committed the crime before fleeing, prompting a dramatic multi-agency chase along the freeway that concluded with his apprehension.
Her devastated family is now left with questions and a desperate need for answers.
“Why? Why did he kill my baby? Why did he kill her?” lamented her mother, Sheila Lopez, during an interview with ABC7.
Police officers were dispatched shortly before 3:30 p.m. following reports of gunshots near Monterey and Garey avenues in Pomona. Upon arrival, they discovered both a man and a woman deceased from gunshot wounds inside an apartment at the complex.
Authorities have not publicly identified the second victim.
Family members identified the woman as Veronica Lopez, saying she lived in San Diego and had been dating suspect Robert Galtman for about two years despite repeated concerns from relatives about the relationship.
Loved ones described Lopez as a bright, talented young woman whose future was stolen in an instant.
“She was our fifth daughter. Very beautiful, very young, very talented,” her father Coby Lopez told CBS. “She used to be a pro skater, had so much positives going in her life. I don’t know what kind of problems she was going through, but we tried to help her. … So young, taken out by a coward.”
Her sister Klarissa Lopez said the family realized something was wrong while watching live television coverage of the police chase.
“We were watching the chase after it was live and my mom noticed the car and the dog that they rescued. We called Pomona police and they confirmed it with fingerprints that it was my sister Veronica,” She told ABC. “Veronica was a wonderful, wonderful daughter, very vibrant, happy and a go getter.”
Outside the apartment complex where the violence unfolded, family members gathered around a growing memorial of candles and balloons, mourning a daughter, sister and friend they say was loved by everyone who knew her.
After the shooting, investigators say Galtman fled in a black Kia sedan, prompting a countywide manhunt.
Authorities later tracked the vehicle using an automatic license plate reader that detected it on the northbound 5 Freeway in Sylmar. The pursuit stretched for roughly 90 minutes before officers used a PIT maneuver to bring the chase to an end.
Galtman was taken into custody and is being held on $3.1 million bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Pomona.
As they prepare for funeral services, Lopez’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover expenses and honor her memory.
In a tribute shared after her death, relatives summed up their grief in six heartbreaking words:
“Forever 24. Forever loved. Forever missed.”