Neighbors Detail What Happened Before Lompoc Shooting

Edward Vargas lives on Daisy Street in Lompoc. He says it was it was close to 9 p.m. Monday when he heard multiple shots fired.

“All we heard was gunshots. We thought it was down the block,” said Vargas.

The gunshots, though, were actually coming from Vargas’ neighbor, Clay Murray, who lives right across the street from him.

Vargas says before shots were fired neighbors heard arguing coming from two people at the home.

One neighbor who did not want to go on camera said her husband was knocking on the door when the second shot was fired.

She says her husband asked Murray if he was shooting and Murray replied, “Yes, call the police.”

Police arrived on scene and detained Murray while checking the inside of his home.

After making it to Murray’s backyard, officers discovered a woman who had been shot in the stomach.

The victim, who has not been identified, was conscious enough to communicate with officers and tell them that Murray was the one who shot her.

“There’s nothing more than an actual testimonial from a victim about who committed a crime on them so that’s a huge piece of evidence,” said Chuck Strange with the Lompoc Police department.

The victim was taken to the hospital where she later died.

Neighbors say “this is a big shock” and something they would have never expected to happen in their community.

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