Woman killed in Bremerton SWAT shootout was a loving mother to many, son says
A 47-year-old woman who was killed Friday, Nov. 17, along with her ex-boyfriend in a shootout with police at her Bremerton home was a mother of four children, but her son said she was like a mother to many more.
Denise Sonia Palacios Pangelinan and Shaun Luzama, 49, were killed by gunfire when law enforcement from multiple agencies moved to arrest Luzama, who had a bench warrant for allegedly murdering a man at a Parkland apartment complex. The early-morning law-enforcement action in a residential neighborhood included SWAT teams from the Washington State Patrol, Kitsap and Pierce counties, as well as FBI agents and Bremerton police.
Luzama was killed by law enforcement, the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the Seattle Times, but officials have released little information about Pangelinan’s death. The Kitsap County medical examiner said an autopsy found she died of a single gunshot wound, and her death was ruled a homicide. Luzama’s death also was ruled a homicide, and he died of multiple gunshots wounds.
Pangelinan’s son, Vincent Pangelinan, said he suspects his mother was killed by law enforcement. He said she was unarmed, and he hasn’t received information about how the shooting occurred. Pierce County deputies said gunshots were fired from the home Luzama and Pangelinan were in all Friday morning, Nov. 17, starting at about 3:40 a.m.
No law enforcement officers were wounded. Luzama and Pangelinan were found shot after law enforcement called out shots fired shortly after 10 a.m. on the north side of the home, according to the Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team. The team is investigating the shooting alongside the Pierce County Force Investigation Team. On Nov. 22, officials said in a news release that Luzama’s gunfire led to a prolonged standoff, and that negotiation attempts were unsuccessful.
SWAT teams from Pierce County and the State Patrol “engaged Luzama” at about 10:03 a.m., officials said. At the time, Luzama was reportedly seated in a vehicle next to Pangelinan, and he was in possession of a firearm.
“Forensic analysis and a thorough review of digital evidence to determine the circumstances of this tragedy will likely take several months,” the release stated.
Pangelinan’s family is from Saipan, an island north of Guam in the Pacific Ocean that has been part of the United States’ Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands since 1978. Vincent Pangelinan, 27, said both he and his mother grew up without fathers but that she filled that role for him. When they moved to Washington state when he was a sophomore in high school, they were without a home, he said, but that his mother made him never feel homeless.
“My mom always made, wherever we are, wherever our situation is, she always made it feel safe,” Vincent Pangelinan said. “However many friends I had, whether we were on food stamps or not, my mom would feed every one of them.”
Denise Pangelinan raised Vincent and his younger brother, he said, and had another son and a daughter. Vincent said they were reunited in 2020 when he flew his youngest brother out from the islands. He said they surprised their mother by having her open a U-Haul box that the youngest was hiding in.
His mother’s death prompted many people to tell him how his mother left a positive mark on their lives. Vincent Pangelinan said “everyone” called his mother Mom. He said her death also brought rude comments. Vincent Pangelinan said his mother and Luzama were from the same island, they had an on-and-off relationship and they both had criminal histories.
“People judge what they see now,” Vincent Pangelinan said. “They don’t know other people’s backgrounds, you know, and they both had one hell of a life.”
Denise Pangelinan was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2016 for aggravated vehicular assault for hitting and maiming a motorcyclist, according to the Kitsap Sun. At the time, she had no prior felony history, the newspaper reported. According to court records, Luzama had prior felony convictions for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Friends and relatives of Denise Pangelinan gathered at her Bremerton home Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 21, for a vigil, her son said. He said many of his mother’s former Goodwill coworkers from Silverdale took the day off in honor of her and to attend. He also started a fundraiser through *spotfund to raise money to help with costs associated with his mother’s death.
This story was originally published November 22, 2023 at 1:20 PM.
