An actress was shot and killed by police in South Pasadena, California on Friday. Vanessa Marquez, 49, an actress in the popular television show ER, was shot during a welfare check at her home.
Marquez used to play the role of a nurse Wendy Golfman on the hit series from 1994 to 1997.
According to CNN, police were called to the 1100 Block of Fremont Avenue in South Pasadena just before 2pm local time on Thursday to perform a welfare check. Upon arrival, Marquez, 49, was having seizures and appeared to be suffering from mental issues. After about 90-minutes of trying to offer Marquez medical help, police said she armed herself with what appeared to be a handgun and police opened fire.
She later died at the hospital. The firearm was identified as a BB gun that resembled a semi-automatic weapon.
Marquez, who appeared in the films Stand and Deliver and Twenty Bucks, was in the news last year after claiming on Twitter that ER co-star George Clooney played a part in blacklisting her from the industry after she and other ER cast members complained of sexism and racism on the set of the show.
“Clooney helped blacklist me when I spoke up abt harassment on ER,” she wrote on Twitter. “Women who don’t play the game lose career. I did.”
Marquez's other credits included 1988's Stand and Deliver and Seinfeld.