A suspect was killed in northern California just after midnight Monday while leading the police in a car chase and engaging them in a shootout, authorities said. Four deputies were reportedly injured, one critically.
Sonoma County Sheriff deputies responding to reports of the suspect brandishing a rifle “found the suspect, who then led them on a pursuit,” the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) said in a statement. “During the pursuit, the suspect stopped, fired shots at the deputies, and continued the pursuit.”
The deputies fired back at the suspect, who then eventually crashed his vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene, the statement noted.
The shooting occurred at about 12:10 a.m. in unincorporated west Santa Rosa, Sonoma County police added. “Four deputies were injured: one with a gunshot wound to the leg, two with injuries to their hands, and one deputy has a head injury,” the statement revealed. “The deputy with a head injury is in critical but stable condition.”
The suspect was not named, nor was it immediately clear if the suspect was killed by the car crash or by police salvo. (RELATED: Incredibly Insane Footage Shows Absolute War Zone Poppin’ Off In Broad Daylight After Suspect Blasts Into Police)
Deputies involved in shooting after being fired at by suspect. Multiple deputies are injured and the suspect has died. Details here: https://t.co/9FyXCyGHoG pic.twitter.com/LARK2kkyu7
— Sonoma Sheriff (@sonomasheriff) March 4, 2024
The Santa Rosa Police Department has taken over the investigation while the SCSO “has invoked the critical incident protocol,” according to the statement.
The SCSO announced the arrest last December of a 64-year-old Santa Rosa man, Clint Mitchell, who was found with seven guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition while under prohibition from owning guns.
He had been firing his guns for two hours before the police swooped on him, the SCSO said. He reportedly had been firing guns on his property for seven months and had 15 guns registered to him despite having been recently prohibited from owning guns.
The SCSO had initially left Mitchell alone, but after researching his situation, they returned and arrested him, despite his initial resistance and the presence of “makeshift booby traps” in his “barricaded” home, the SCSO revealed.