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LONG BEACH (CNS) - Mona Rodriguez, the woman reportedly shot in the head by a Long Beach Unified School District safety officer and later died from her injuries, donated organs to five people, the family's lawyer released in an email statement Wednesday morning.
Rodriguez donated her heart, lungs, liver and both kidneys during medical procedures performed at Long Beach Memorial Care Hospital on Tuesday.
Doctors and nurses at the hospital gave Rodriguez a hero's celebration in the hallways as she was taken to the operating room while her favorite song, “Letter To My Son,'' by Skeezy played, the family's lawyer Luis Carillo said in the email.
Rodriguez stopped breathing at 5:14 p.m., after her organs were removed at the hospital, according to Carillo.
The 18-year-old mother was shot Sept. 27 in the area of Spring Street and Palo Verde Avenue near Millikan High School in Long Beach.
Long Beach police said they responded to the scene in response to a reported shooting, and officers found Rodriguez with at least one gunshot wound.
Long Beach police and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office have been investigating the shooting. The school safety officer who fired the shots was placed on leave.
Rodriguez, who leaves a 5-month-old son, was on life support at Long Beach Memorial Care Hospital since Monday.
According to police, a Long Beach Unified School District school safety officer was driving in the area near Millikan High School when he observed Rodriguez involved in an altercation with a 15-year-old girl in the street. Investigators determined that a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were also involved in the dispute.
When Rodriguez, the man and the boy attempted to leave the scene in a vehicle, the school safety officer approached the car and fired into the vehicle as the driver was pulling away, striking her inside, police said.
Video of the shooting posted online appeared to show the officer, who name was not released by police, firing at least two shots into the car.
Rodriguez's family members and her boyfriend have asked for the arrest of the safety officer. They had a candlelight vigil for her on Thursday at the hospital.
A GoFundMe page has been established by the family for Rodriguez to assist with funeral costs and arrangements. The GoFundMe page states that Rodriguez is survived by her mother, four brothers and a sister.
The GoFundMe page is at www.gofundme.com/f/mh5ttv-help-the-rodriguez-family?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer.
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