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Newly released footage and audio recordings from a vehicle pursuit in September 2022 show that a 15-year-old girl who had been kidnapped by her father was fatally shot by gunfire from deputies as she followed their instructions to exit her father’s truck.
The girl, Savannah Graziano, was fatally shot on Sept. 27, 2022, off Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, one day after the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert that said her father, Anthony Graziano, 45, was believed to have abducted her, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Before the alert was issued, Mr. Graziano had killed his wife outside a school in Fontana, Calif., about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, and had also fired at a father and child near the school, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Mr. Graziano’s truck was spotted on Sept. 27, which led to a vehicle pursuit that ended with “an extensive exchange of gunfire,” the Sheriff’s Department said in the released footage.
At some point in the pursuit, Mr. Graziano’s truck came to a stop in an embankment off I-15, the video shows. In a belt recording from a deputy who was closest to Savannah, a deputy is heard instructing her to exit the truck and come to him.
“Passenger, get out, get out,” the deputy says, as gunshots ring out in the background.
Moments later, the deputy says, “Stop shooting her.”
“He’s in the car,” the deputy says. “Stop.”
Savannah was wearing tactical gear and a helmet as she walked toward a deputy, the Sheriff’s Department said.
“Oh no,” someone is heard saying in aerial footage that was blurred as Savannah was shot.
Deputies immediately began treating Savannah, and she was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries, the Sheriff’s Department said. Mr. Graziano, who was shot by gunfire from deputies, died at the scene.
The Sheriff’s Department did not initially disclose exactly how Savannah or Mr. Graziano had been killed, and said at the time that it was possible that Savannah might have participated in the shooting.
The Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on Tuesday.
The episode is being investigated by the California Department of Justice.
The footage and recordings were published by The Guardian on Monday after they were released by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department to Joey Scott, a journalist who had filed a records requests for body camera footage of the shooting.
