Tustin officer fatally shoots knife-wielding man after woman is found dead in apartment

A Tustin police call to an apartment on Walnut Avenue ended with two people dead on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Police said a woman had been dead inside the home for some time, and a man was shot by an officer after he allegedly advanced on officers with a knife.

The call came in just after 2:30 p.m. Tustin police described it as a domestic incident that was later upgraded to a possible homicide investigation, according to FOX 11, NBC Los Angeles and ABC7.

What police say

Officers made contact with a man at the home in the 1400 block of Walnut Avenue. While they were talking with him, one officer saw an unresponsive woman inside, according to a Tustin police statement reported by FOX 11.

Police said the man then came toward the officers with a knife and an officer opened fire. Officers began lifesaving measures, but he died at the scene. Police said early evidence suggested the woman may have been dead "for some time" before officers arrived.

Police did not release the names or ages of the man or the woman, or say how they were related. Her cause of death was not released.

At the scene

ABC7 placed the scene at the Briarwood Apartments on Walnut Avenue. Video posted by Juice Unlocked, credited to @lrhm.images, shows several officers inside the crime scene tape outside a building marked 1422, and Orange County District Attorney vehicles parked nearby.

Neighbors told ABC7 they often heard the couple fighting and that police had been called to the apartment before. One resident said she first thought the gunshots were fireworks, then heard sirens. Police did not immediately confirm the relationship between the man and the woman.

The investigation

Detectives opened a major crime scene investigation Monday night to work out how both people died. The Orange County District Attorney's Office responded to the scene and is running its own independent investigation of the shooting, which is standard when police shoot someone in Orange County.

Juice Unlocked found no later public update naming the two people or explaining how the woman died. This story will be updated if Tustin police, the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner or the DA's office release more information.

Get help

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.