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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police say an unarmed 73-year-old man fatally shot by police in Southern California was carrying a crucifix, but it's unclear if that's what a witness thought was a gun.
A police officer in Bakersfield, California, fatally shot Francisco Serna near his house early Monday after responding to a 911 call about someone brandishing a gun.
But police concluded Serna was not armed as his family members told news reporters that he often carried around a crucifix that the 911 caller may have confused for a gun.
Bakersfield police Sgt. Gary Carruesco said Wednesday that a coroner found a crucifix on Serna well after the shooting. He described it as plastic with the appearance of wood.
Serna's family says he had dementia and would go on short walks in his neighborhood to help tire him out so he could sleep.
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