An Arroyo Grande woman is dead, and the alleged perpetrator—her adult son—was arrested after a brief standoff with police in San Luis Obispo on Sept. 17.
Karen Shumey, 65, was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound in downtown San Luis Obispo. Shumey was a longtime eighth grade history teacher at Vandenberg Middle School.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., police officers responded to the apartment of Christopher John Shumey, 34, after receiving reports of shots fired and a woman screaming.
According to a department press release, the suspect fired one shot from a shotgun at the first responding unit from a window on the second floor of the building. Officers weren’t injured, and were soon able to convince Shumey to drop the gun and surrender.
The elder Shumey was found lying on the landing at the top of the stairs just outside the front door to the upstairs apartment. No other suspects or victims were believed to be involved. Christopher Shumey was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of murder, as well as assault with a firearm against a peace officer.
According to the department, Karen Shumey had gone to visit her son and at some point the two became engaged in an argument. After leaving the apartment for a short time, Karen Shumey returned to the apartment when she was allegedly shot and killed.
The Shumey family could not be reached for comment as of press time.
This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2011.