Police have since confirmed that suspected shooter was found dead inside a home later Thursday night.
Corona was only several weeks into her tenure with the Davis Police Department, which officially started just after Christmas. She had graduated from the Sacramento Police Departments training academy in July, per the Sacramento Bee .
On August 2, Corona was sworn into the Davis Police Department and her father Merced Corona, who served as a law enforcement officer at the Colusa County Sheriffs Office for 26 years, pinned her police badge on during the ceremony, the Williams Pioneer Review reported at the time.
"We are extremely proud of Natalie and all her accomplishments at such a young age, Merced said at the time. "She is very excited to be a police officer and is very dedicated to the profession of law enforcement.
In a press conference Thursday night, DavisPoliceChief Darren Pytel spoke about Corona's involvement in the department, per the Sacramento Bee.
"Natalie was just full of life and full of energy. Just an absolute pleasure to be around," Pytel said, according to the CBS-affiliated KION 546 . "She just worked like you can't believe. In fact, there was a period of time before going into the academy where we ran out of funding for her paid position. Despite that, she still came in and volunteered."
"She's just an absolute star in the department and somebody that pretty much every department member really looked to as, you know, a close friend, a sister," the police chief said, per NBC News .
The Sacramento Bee notes that Corona was the first officer killed in the line of Duty in Davis in nearly 60 years. NBC News reported that she is the second 22-year-old rookie police officer to be shot this week. Officer Chateri Payne, 22, was dressed in uniform before her shift started when she was repeatedly shot earlier this week in Louisiana, NBC News reported.
