Savannah Graziano, a 15-year-old girl that authorities were trying to locate after her father allegedly murdered her mother and abducted her, was fatally shot during an alleged “firefight” between her father and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputies (SBSD), San Bernardino Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a press briefing yesterday. Dicus did not confirm whether Savannah Graziano was shot by deputies or her father, Anthony John Graziano, who was also fatally shot during the incident.
On Monday morning, Anthony Graziano, a 45-year-old Fontana, California resident, allegedly shot his wife before taking off with his 15-year-old daughter in what Fontana Police described as a “domestic violence incident.” Patch.com reported that the couple was reportedly in the middle of a divorce.
An amber alert was issued, and a day later, authorities received a tip from a citizen near Barstow who thought they spotted Graziano’s white 2017 Nissan pickup truck with California plates and a distinct sticker that read “animal” on the rear quarter panel.
Deputies made contact with the suspect vehicle, and a chase ensued through multiple jurisdictions, first down Interstate 58 and then Interstate 15, while Anthony Graziano reportedly fired at two deputy patrol vehicles, disabling one unit, according to Sheriff Dicus. Eventually, San Bernardino Sheriff’s Deputies were led to where Main Street meets Interstate 15 in Hesperia, California. Graziano's vehicle reportedly went “off-road” where a “firefight” ensued, Dicus said on Tuesday.