Just awful.
Updated: Sep 27, 2022 / 05:22 PM PDT
A homicide suspect and his abducted 15-year-old daughter were fatally shot by law enforcement during a pursuit and gunfight along the 15 Freeway in Hesperia Tuesday morning.
The girl was apparently wearing tactical gear when she ran toward deputies, was shot and later died.
Authorities were chasing a vehicle belonging to
Anthony John Graziano, 45, the suspect in Monday’s
shooting and abduction.
Authorities say Graziano killed his estranged wife, Tracy Martinez, 45, and kidnapped their daughter, Savanna Graziano, during a domestic dispute.
The couple was in the process of getting a divorce, police said.
Around 10:25 a.m. Tuesday, amid the ongoing manhunt, a resident believed they saw the suspect and his 2017 Nissan Frontier in Barstow and alerted authorities.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies then gave chase and at one point, the suspect opened fire on officers from his rear window, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
During the chase, numerous patrol vehicles were shot and one even became disabled.
The pursuit continued through the 15 Freeway before the driver eventually went off road near the Main Street exit and a firefight ensued. At one point a passenger wearing tactical gear exited the truck. That person ran toward deputies and “during the gunfire, goes down,” Dicus said.
After the shooting stopped and the vehicle was cleared, authorities realized the person wearing the tactical gear was Graziano’s daughter. The girl was immediately transported to a local hospital, but later died.
Graziano was killed in the shootout.
Dicus said it is unclear if the teen was armed when she ran toward deputies, or if she fired at deputies at any time during the dangerous pursuit, but only one weapon was discovered at the scene so far.
He added that the information shared Tuesday is preliminary and coroner’s officials need to positively identify both people killed in the gun battle.
Dicus called the investigation “complex,” and indicated his department will be looking at any video taken during the chaos.
Video from Sky5 showed the suspect’s riddled truck on the side of the road with several flat tires and shattered windows.
The
California Highway Patrol said all lanes of the 15 Freeway were closed at Bear Valley Road and drivers were being diverted off the freeway due to the ongoing police activity.
A homicide suspect and his abducted 15-year-old daughter were fatally shot by law enforcement during a pursuit and gunfight along the 15 Freeway in Hesperia Tuesday morning. The girl was apparently…
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