(LOS ANGELES) — Authorities announced on Wednesday that a Southern California man was suspected. He is suspected of killing his estranged wife and kidnapping their 15-year-old daughter. He had been living with the teen in his pickup truck and hotels for several weeks before the violence.
Police Chase Kidnap Suspect
Anthony John Graziano and Savannah Graziano were killed on Tuesday. After a 45-mile (72-kilometer) chase on a highway east of Los Angeles in the high desert. As the officers pursued the pickup truck, shots were fired at them.
When the car stopped, the girl. She is wearing a tactical helmet and vest, got out, and ran toward deputies amid a hail of gunfire, according to the police. Authorities are trying to figure out whether deputies or her father shot her.
According to police, the only weapon recovered at the scene was a rifle found in the truck where Anthony Graziano died. Authorities were reviewing police video from the shootout.
While many questions remain about Tuesday’s shooting, police in Fontana. Where Graziano’s wife, Tracy Martinez, was killed on Monday, providing some insight into the family’s life before the bloodshed.
According to Fontana, Sgt. Christian Surgent and Anthony Graziano had moved out of the family’s home. A month or two before the killing, the couple was going through a divorce. Savannah Graziano accompanied her father while her younger brother remained with their mother.
Following Martinez’s death, police issued an Amber Alert, claiming Savannah Graziano had been kidnapped by her father. Detectives are now attempting to determine whether she was coerced into leaving Fontana.
https://twitter.com/CHPAlerts/status/1574496574058639361?s=20&t=_DwHVggFn_vL9jZeHGC6GA
Father Picked his Daughter whether by force or willing
“Did she agree to go?” According to Surgent. “Was she kidnapped? We have not yet been able to demonstrate this.”
Surgent said Fontana police had received no reports of domestic violence at home. Before this week and child services had not contacted the family. At the time, neither parent was on probation or parole. Investigators believe Savannah was home-schooled while living with her father. The latter liked to camp out in the desert and mountains in his pickup truck, according to police.
Witnesses saw Martinez walking in Fontana on Monday before Graziano picked her up in his truck. Surgent stated it was unclear whether she was coerced into the vehicle or entered alone.
“And that’s when they started arguing and yelling, and domestic violence started,” he said.
Martinez exited the truck, and Graziano opened fire with a handgun. He was striking her multiple times, according to Surgent. During morning drop-off, students and parents were forced to duck for cover after a shooting on the street near an elementary school.
Surgent said Graziano fled and drove to find Savannah. Who was most likely staying wherever they had been that day. The son was not present at the time and was not involved.
Police Locate the Truck: Gunfire Started and Ended the Lives of Grazianos
A 911 caller the next day reported seeing the suspect’s Nissan Frontier near Barstow, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) north of Fontana.
The pickup truck was located and pursued by law enforcement on the highway to Hesperia.
During a news conference Tuesday, Graziano was “constantly shooting back at the deputies” with a rifle through the truck’s rear window throughout the pursuit, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said.
According to Dicus, there are “some indications.” During the chase, Savannah was shooting at deputies but provided no details.
When the truck went off-road and became disabled, a firefight broke out in Hesperia, with dozens of bullets flying. Savannah ran toward deputies in the chaos, who didn’t realize it was her. She was killed by gunfire. Once at the hospital, she passed away shortly before noon.
Her father was discovered dead in the driver’s seat and was pronounced dead on the scene.
The Sheriff’s Office refused to provide any further information on Wednesday.