Photos: Mom Gunned Down By Ex As They Argue Over Custody Of Toddler In Front Of Police Station

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A father killed the mother of his 17-month-old child as they exchanged custody of the toddler at a police station, authorities say. Jacob Munn, 31, blasted his child’s 27-year-old mother, Brenda Renteria, with a shotgun at the Hawthorne, California police headquarters on Sunday after the two began to argue. One of Renteria’s relatives, who witnessed the deadly shooting, was captured on camera as she broke down. She screamed in agony on the street outside the police station as an officer comforted her.

Police said the toddler was at the police station at the time of the incident, but was not hurt in the shooting. Hawthorne Lieutenant Ti Goetz said Munn fled after killing Renteria, but was later identified when he was arrested following a manhunt.


According to authorities, Renteria had gone to pick up her child from Munn, but the two got involved in an altercation. Munn reportedly brandished a shotgun and gunned down Renteria just steps away from the front door of the police station. An officer heard the gunfire and ran outside the station to witness the aftermath of the shooting, Goetz said. ‘(The officer )went out to the front lobby, exited the front door, saw that somebody had been shot and killed directly outside the front door to our station. That person’s family and friends were pointing out a vehicle that was leaving the parking lot.’ Munn reportedly jumped in his truck after the shooting and sped off, police say.

Officers later found the truck abandoned in a Denny’s restaurant parking lot, with a small cross dangling off of the rear-view mirror and a bullet hole in the winshield, less than a mile away from the police station. Authorities tracked down Munn after a three hour search. He was arrested and charged with Renteria’s death.