CHP officer shot after pursuit of murder suspects
A gun battle in San Bernardino County between murder suspects and law enforcement officers after a high-speed chase Thursday left one suspect dead, one wounded and a CHP officer hospitalized, officials said
The shootout concluded a pursuit that had begun a short time earlier when San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of shots fired in Yucca Valley. About 11:41 a.m., they discovered a body inside a vehicle in a shopping center parking lot.
Witnesses alerted deputies that two men were seen fleeing the scene in a gray or silver sedan. Shortly afterward, deputies saw a car matching the description, and CHP officers attempted to stop it but the driver refused.
A pursuit then began from the Banning area toward San Bernardino along Interstate 10. With several CHP cars and a San Bernardino County sheriff’s cruiser in pursuit, the sedan left the freeway at Waterman Avenue and stopped in a parking lot on Carnegie Drive after striking a pole, officials said.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said both suspects got out of the car and one or both them began firing at officers, who promptly returned fire.
One of the suspects was killed and another wounded, she said. A CHP officer was shot and wounded in the hail of bullets, she said.
Fran Clader, a CHP spokeswoman, said the officer was taken to a hospital and was expected to be OK.
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