Police said the suspected gunman was believed to be the woman’s boyfriend.
ANAHEIM, CA — A woman was found dead inside a garage early Wednesday after police said her suspected boyfriend opened fire at an Anaheim home, sending bullets into nearby houses and cars.
The shooting unfolded a little before 3 a.m. at a home on Huntington Avenue near Fulton Street, in a neighborhood close to the 91 Freeway. Anaheim police said the case appeared to stem from a domestic dispute. A 38-year-old man was taken into custody after officers arrived, but police had not released his name, the woman’s name or a possible motive by Wednesday evening.
Police said multiple neighbors called 911 after hearing repeated gunshots. Officers were told while they were responding that a woman inside the home had been shot. Sgt. Matt Sutter of the Anaheim Police Department said officers later made contact with the suspect and arrested him with what police described as minor use of force. “Multiple neighbors called saying they heard multiple gunshots,” Sutter said. “While officers were on the way, we got another report that a female inside of the house was shot.”
Five other adults were inside the home when the shooting happened, police said. They hid inside and called 911 as gunfire continued. When officers later entered the home, they found the woman dead in the garage and recovered a firearm in the front yard. Initial reports suggested there could be an active shooter, and the 91 Freeway was temporarily shut down in both directions at Brookhurst Street around 4 a.m. Police later said the incident was not an active shooter case.
The gunfire spread fear through the block. My Phu, who lives nearby, said bullets hit her bedroom wall and came close to where she and her husband had been sleeping. “One of them went through the wall, right on top of my headboard,” Phu said. “And one of them hit the window right by my husband’s side.” Another neighbor told reporters he arrived home around 7 a.m. with his young children and found a bullet in his mother-in-law’s bed. Police said other homes and vehicles may also have been struck.
A neighbor said he had spoken with the woman around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, only hours before the shooting. He said she appeared happy and introduced the man as her boyfriend. Later, the same neighbor said, gunfire sent his family to the floor inside their home. “I woke up. I came out and the whole family inside here was startled,” he said. “We kept hearing a little more shots. And so then that’s when we all just gathered in our living room, just laid down on the floor.”
Police said the suspected gunman was taken to a hospital after his arrest and had not yet been interviewed by detectives as of Wednesday afternoon. Investigators said they were still trying to determine what led to the shooting. Sutter said police checked department records and found no prior contact with the suspect. No other injuries were reported by police, though the gunfire left visible damage across the surrounding neighborhood.
Villayphanh Soukkhyphiangkeo, who described the woman as a longtime friend, said he drove from Ontario after getting a call from her sister. He said the woman was in her 40s, had worked as a nurse, once owned a restaurant and was a mother. “She’s the hardest working girl I know, man, and the biggest heart in the world,” Soukkhyphiangkeo said. He said he had met the suspect a few times and had not noticed warning signs.
The investigation remained open Wednesday night. Police had not announced charges, released booking details or identified the woman pending official notification and coroner procedures.
Author note: Last updated May 21, 2026.