Four sheriff’s deputies in Northern California were hurt, one seriously, in a gunfight early Monday morning with a suspect who led them on a car chase and shot at them several times before he died in a crash, according to the police.
Police say the killing happened just after midnight in Sonoma County, close to Santa Rosa. The suspect died when his car crashed, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
“While the deputies were chasing him, he stopped and shot at them. He then kept running.” The sheriff’s office said in a statement that the suspect crashed the car he was driving after deputies returned fire.
The Santa Rosa Police Department is currently investigating the motive behind the shooting.
According to the sheriff’s office, one of the deputies who was involved in the incident sustained a head injury and was transported to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Additionally, another deputy suffered a bullet wound to the leg, while two others had injuries to their hands, although the exact nature of these injuries was not specified.
The authorities have not yet released the names of the deceased suspect and the injured deputies.
According to Deputy Rob Dillion, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, investigators are currently looking into multiple crime scenes. Dillion mentioned that the suspect, during the chase, made several stops with his car to shoot at the deputies who were pursuing him.
According to Dillion, investigators are currently searching for evidence at a minimum of two crime scenes. However, he mentioned that there could potentially be three or four crime scenes spread across a wide area.
It is still unclear how the other deputies were injured, apart from the one deputy who was shot in the leg, according to Dillion.
“We are currently uncertain about the exact nature of the projectiles that hit the glass, as they could have been either bullets that shattered the glass or bullet fragments that were fired at the glass,” explained Dillion. He further noted, “The suspect fired multiple shots at the police officers.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the deputies responded to a report of a person brandishing a rifle in an unincorporated Sonoma County area west of Santa Rosa, leading to the unfolding of the incident.
The investigation of the incident was assigned to the Santa Rosa Police Department following the activation of a critical incident protocol for officer-involved shooting by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s department mentioned that they have recorded the chase and gunfight on the body-worn cameras that the deputies were wearing. They stated that the footage will be released to the public in accordance with state law.
