Serna was declared dead at the scene by Kern County coroner.
Police officers attending to a distress call about a man brandishing his weapon shot and killed a 73-year-old grandpa who was suffering from dementia.
According to Sgt. Gary Carruesco, they were informed about an unidentified man in the 7900 block of Silver Birch Avenue, carrying a weapon and soon a team was sent to the spot to take stock of the situation.
Carruesco told media that when the team arrived at the location, the septuagenarian who has been identified as Francisco Serna was standing in the driveway.
Carruesco added: “As some point during that contact, an officer fired several rounds striking the individual.”
Serna was declared dead at the scene by Kern County coroner at 1:15 am.
It is not yet clear what prompted the officer to take down Serna as they failed to recover any forms of weapon from the spot, raising concerns that the officer might have misread the situation and made the fatal choice that took the old man’s life.
Till Monday afternoon, police did not recover a gun and Serna’s sons testify that their father doesn’t own one.
“My dad did not own a gun. He was a 73-year-old retired grandpa, just living life,” Rogelio Serna told the Los Angeles Times. “He should have been surrounded by family at old age, not surrounded by bullets.”
Ironically, Rogelio also said that his father was against carrying firearms and had voted for getting dangerous weapons off the streets.
Rogelio confirmed that his father was experiencing early stages of dementia and delusions that caused sleep disorders that forced his father to take long solitary walks during the late night; an attempt to get tired so as to get some sleep.
Rogelio also recounted two other instances when police came to their doorsteps after Serna accidently activated the medical alarm after getting confused. This has not been confirmed by the authorities.
After retiring in 2000’s from a cotton gin in McFarland, Serna settled with his wife and one of his daughters.
Carruesco said, “At this point, the investigation really slows down while we interview everyone involved, all officers, and attempt to locate video surveillance and things like that.”
He also said that the officer who fired the bullets that fatally wounded and killed the grandpa has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation.