HESPERIA, CA. (Pain In The Pass) >> The suspect in a Fontana slaying was killed Tuesday in a shootout with sheriff’s deputies on the southbound Interstate 15 in the high desert city of Hesperia after he allegedly fled with his teenage daughter, authorities said.
The suspect, 45-year-old Anthony John Graziano, was pronounced deceased at the scene on the freeway in Hesperia according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. A female passenger was also struck by gunfire but authorities would not immediately say whether she was the missing 15-year-old girl.
Investigators had issued an Amber Alert after Graziano fled with his daughter, Savannah Graziano, driving a white 2017 Nissan Frontier with California plates. Graziano was described as armed and dangerous after he allegedly killed a woman on Monday in a domestic violence incident in Fontana.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said they received a call Tuesday morning about a vehicle matching the description of the Amber Alert in the city of Barstow. Authorities were chasing the Nissan pickup truck belonging to Anthony John Graziano down southbound I-15 from Barstow.
Authorities caught up to the pickup truck just after Main Street exit in Hesperia and there was an exchange of gunfire between the suspect and deputies. A male suspect was pronounced deceased at the scene and a female passenger was transported to a local hospital in unknown condition. At this time its unknown if the wounded passenger is Savanna Graziano..
The California Highway Patrol said all southbound lanes of the 15 Freeway were closed at Bear Valley Road and the Main Street onramps and drivers were being diverted off the freeway and use side streets to bypass the closures due to the ongoing police activity. The closures and investigation will go on for hours into the night.
Update the 15 year girl died at the hospital.
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