Long Beach school officer, Eddie Gonzalez, fired after shooting 18-year-old mom, Mona Rodriguez

The Long Beach Unified School District on Wednesday fired the school safety officer, Eddie F. Gonzalez, who fatally shot an 18-year-old woman, Mona Rodriguez, near Millikan High School last week.

“After our internal review, we clearly saw areas where the employee violated district policy and did not meet our standards and expectations,” Superintendent Jill Baker said during a late-afternoon news conference regarding the decision to fire officer Eddie F. Gonzalez.

“We believe the decision to terminate this officer’s employment is warranted, justified, and quite frankly, the right thing to do,” Baker said.

The school board voted unanimously, 5-0, to fire Gonzalez.

On the afternoon of Sept. 27, Mona Rodriguez, the mother of a 5-month-old son, was shot in the head by the officer while she was in a moving vehicle in a parking lot near Millikan High School.

Investigators say Rodriguez was seen involved in a fight before the officer opened fire.

Rodriguez died Tuesday afternoon after being on life support since Sept. 27, according to a statement.

Rodriguez’s friends and family say she was unarmed and want murder charges brought against the officer.

The officer had already been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation by the District Attorney’s Office and the Long Beach Police Department.