Woman Shot in Confrontation With Deputies

A young Torrance woman was shot and wounded after she assertedly fired at sheriff’s deputies who had tried to prevent her from committing suicide Tuesday night near Carson, deputies reported.

Janet St. Clair, 20, was in Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in stable condition with seven bullet wounds in her lower body after deputies fired at her with a shotgun and revolvers, Deputy Mason Kenny said.

The shooting followed nearly a half-hour confrontation during which she first held her pistol behind her back, then dropped it and finally picked it up again and started firing, Kenny said.

The shootout occurred near a phone booth at Torrance Boulevard and Normandie Avenue where she had first called her employer and told him of her despondency and of suicidal intentions, Kenny said. The employer kept her on the line, got her location and signaled someone else to call authorities, deputies said.

Four deputies arrived and began pleading with her to drop the gun, which she finally did. However, as they waited for a negotiator she again picked up the gun and shot at the deputies, who returned fire. She was hit only in the legs and lower torso, Kenny said.