Woman arrested for allegedly shooting at officers, resident in Chowchilla, police say

A Chowchilla woman has been arrested after allegedly firing a gun towards officers earlier this month, according to authorities.

Chowchilla resident Tina Copen, 39, was arrested Tuesday after police received several witness statements and authored several search warrants following the Nov. 18 incident, according to a Chowchilla Police Department news release.

Police said that at about 8:13 p.m. Nov. 18, officers responded to a report of a domestic dispute with possible shots fired at a residence in the 14000 block of Avenue 25 1/2.

Due to the nature of the call, police said the arriving officers parked their units at a distance that would allow them to safely approach to make contact, according to the release.

After making contact, police said the officers noticed a vehicle pull up the driveway and park, before a female exited the vehicle and fired one round towards the officers and resident.

Police said the officers on scene did not return fire at the suspect, due to children playing in a yard along the street.

Officers chased after the vehicle but police said that due to the residence having an approximately 80 yard driveway, officers did not obtain a location or direction of the suspect vehicle, according to police.

Authorities said officers worked for five days gathering evidence and other details while trying to take Copen into custody. Police were able to recover a firearm believed to have been used in the crime.

According to Chowchilla Police Sgt. David Burnett, police are still investigating the incident and no motive for the shooting is known at this time. Burnett said is it also unknown if or how the suspect and victim know each other.

Copen was booked into Madera County Jail on suspicion of shooting at an inhabited dwelling and remains in custody in lieu of 200,000 bond, according to jail records.