Saturday, July 27, 2024
A 15 year old girl in California was shot and killed by police after an Amber Alert was issued in her name. The girl had been kidnapped and was reportedly running towards police for help when she was fatally shot.
The kidnapper, Anthony Graziano, 45, was involved in what police are referring to as an act of domestic violence.
Prior to the kidnapping, Graziano killed his estranged wife, Tracy Martinez, 45, near am elementary school in Fontana according to police. Police locked down the area as the shooter ran off with his daughter, Savannah.
Authorities then issued an Amber Alert for Savannah immediately after.
The following morning, Graziano’s Nissan pickup truck was spotted by witnesses who reported the truck to police. Law enforcement intercepted the truck and a chase ensued which ended in a standoff and shootout at about 11L15 AM on the 15 Freeway in Victorville.
**This AMBER Alert has been deactivated.** https://t.co/0GAmyx2dRy
— CHP – Alerts (@CHPAlerts) September 27, 2022
Responding deputies said that Graziano was shooting at them “constantly,” firing through the rear window of his truck as police fired back.
Graziano was shot and killed in the gunfire. His daughter attempted to escape the vehicle and ran towards the deputies for help but was shot and killed by police who claimed that Savannah was wearing “tactical gear” according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Savannah was then transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead around noon.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a press conference that the investigation is merely in its infancy and that all information at this time is only preliminary.
Dicus declined to comment on which deputy fired the fatal shot which killed the kidnapped child. Discus also added that there were “indications” that Savannah was involved in the shooting and actually might have “[shot] back at the deputies.”
Lastly, Dicus said that authorities are still sifting through the details of the shooting which, according to the department, will take at least another day or so. Dicus only said definitively that “both Anthony Graziano and Savannah are deceased.”