A 15-year-old girl and her fugitive father who abducted her were killed in a highway shootout with police in California Tuesday, officials said.
Savannah Graziano was running toward San Bernardino County sheriffs in tactical gear as the officers shot at her father, Anthony John Graziano, who is wanted for the murder of Savannah’s mother.
San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said Savannah may be responsible for some of the bullets fired.
“There may be some indications that the passenger of the vehicle which we believe is Savannah may have been involved in some of the fire exchange,” Dicus said at a press conference, calling the case “highly complex.”
“There may be some information that the passenger was involved in firing back at the deputies and we’re still trying to confirm that at this point.”
Dicus did not say whether it was bullets fired by police or those from the girl’s own father that killed her.
Savannah was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her father was killed at the scene, police said on Twitter.
Police said it will take “at least 24 hours” for new information to emerge due to the wide-spanning area where bullets were fired.
Graziano had been on the run since Monday morning after he allegedly killed his wife, Tracy Martinez, with multiple gunshots in Fontana, California.
He fled with Savannah in a Nissan Frontier. An Amber Alert was issued warning that Graziano was armed and dangerous.
A 911 caller reported seeing the car in Barstow Tuesday, sparking a police chase.
Authorities disabled the car, and Graziano began shooting at the officers out of his car’s rear window.
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