A new video published this Monday shows the shooting in which Savannah Graziano, the 15-year-old girl kidnapped by her father on September 27, 2022, died and was shot by agents from the San Bernadino Sheriff's Office when they tried to arrest the man, Anthony Graziano, who before fleeing in his car with the young woman had murdered his wife. The teenager was unarmed and she ran toward officers for help before being shot on the side of Highway 15 in California, according to video and audio recording obtained by independent journalist Joey Scott.
The Fontana Police Department had found Graziano's wife, Tracy Martínez, on a street in that town in the urban area of Los Angeles with multiple gunshot wounds on Tuesday, September 26; She was taken to a hospital, where she died. An amber alert was then issued as it was suspected that the alleged killer had kidnapped the teenager before escaping from her.
On Wednesday the 27th, a person reported seeing the car in which the suspect and his daughter were traveling in San Bernardino County. The Sheriff's Department located the vehicle in Barstow and began a 70-mile chase with the man shooting at police from the driver's window with a semi-automatic weapon.'
Graziano tried unsuccessfully to climb a slope and, after finding himself almost surrounded, he stopped the vehicle and continued shooting at the officers. The video obtained by The Press-Entrepise shows the moment her daughter exits the passenger side and crouches on the ground, before attempting to approach a police officer following her instructions. In the recording you can hear her asking them to stop shooting her.
After listening to an officer insisting that she walk towards him, the young woman agrees, crouching a little, and after hesitating for a moment. At that moment she is hit by the agents' bullets. Her body appears blurry in the video after falling to the ground. She then hears someone say, "Oh, no."
When the young woman falls to the ground, an officer asks his colleagues to stop shooting. “Stop shooting her! He's in the car! Stop! she screams.
Although the officers were not wearing body cameras, audio was released from a microphone that was on the belt of one of them, and that was close to the minor when she got out of her father's truck, according to The Guardian and Los Angeles newspapers. Times.
The agents tried to give first aid to the seriously injured young woman, but she was declared dead at the hospital to which she was taken. Anthony Graziano was shot dead at the scene.
The Sheriff's Office alleged that the minor was hit by bullets from officers who had a different view of the truck than the officer who was yelling at them, and who were at a greater distance and elevation from where the car was stopped. Furthermore, they said that they shot her young woman because she saw her walking towards her officer, without knowing that he was calling her.
The Sheriff's Office has not provided the names of the officers involved in the shooting, the Los Angeles Times explained.
The sheriff, Shannon Dicus, explained at the time that it appeared that the young woman was walking toward the officer in “tactical gear.” The authorities found weapons, bullets, grenades and bulletproof vests.
Authorities described the shooting scene as “very complex” and said officers were shot through the rear window of the pursued car. A bullet hit an agent in the face, according to the
Los Angeles Times
. The shooting is being investigated by the California Department of Justice.