A California teenager who was kidnapped by her father in 2022 followed the orders of a sheriff’s deputy and appeared to be surrendering when she was shot and killed by another deputy in a highway shootout. This was revealed in a newly released video and audio program.
On September 27, 2022, Savannah Graziano, 15, was shot and killed as she ran towards San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies during the shooting. Her father, Anthony Graziano, 45, was also killed in the shooting.
The Sheriff’s Office released the video and audio clips last week following public records requests from multiple news organizations. The deputies were not wearing body cameras, but video footage was recorded by a sheriff’s helicopter and a witness’ dashboard camera.
Before shooting Savannah and her father, police pursued Graziano’s pickup truck for about 110 miles, including along Highway 15. A helicopter crew following the chase said shots were fired from the driver’s side of the truck, hitting the police officer and a passing man. The driver said there was another shot fired from the passenger side.
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On September 27, 2022, Savannah Graziano, 15, was shot and killed as she ran toward San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies. (Fontana City Police Department, via AP)
It is unclear who fired the shots from the truck.
Mr. Graziano’s truck and a deputy vehicle were on the interstate in the desert east of Los Angeles in Hesperia, about 55 miles north of Fontana, where Mr. Graziano shot and killed Tracy Martinez, his estranged wife and Savannah’s mother, the day before. I stopped on the road.
According to the video, Savannah was shot and just before a deputy could reach her safely.
A deputy hiding in the back of a sheriff’s SUV repeatedly yelled at Savannah, “Passenger, get out!” and “Come to me, come to me!”
The girl, who was wearing tactical gear and a helmet, got out of the passenger side of the pickup truck and ran toward the deputy, briefly crouching on the ground while the deputy continued to yell commands.
Savannah Graziano was on the verge of reaching a deputy safely when she was shot, video shows. (San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)
Then, as she got up from her crouch and began walking toward the deputy, other deputies fired from a higher vantage point. The deputy yelled, “Stop! Stop shooting her! He’s in her car! Stop!” Savannah was unarmed during the gunfight.
The deputy’s command to stop shooting was not broadcast over the radio, but the audio was recorded on the deputy’s belt recorder, the sheriff’s department said.
After the girl was shot, the deputy in the helicopter could be heard over the radio saying, “Oh, no.”
For months, authorities did not say whether Savannah was killed by her father or by deputies. In a newly released video, a narrator says she and her father were hit by a secondary bullet and died from their wounds.
The sheriff’s office has not released autopsy results for Savannah, her father, or her mother. The department also has not identified the deputies involved in the shooting.
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Anthony John Graziano, 45, was killed by deputies during the gunfight. (Fontana City Police Department, via AP)
During the pursuit, four Sheriff’s Department vehicles were struck by gunfire, and deputies seized multiple firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, flash-bang grenades, smoke grenades, a bulletproof vest and a tactical helmet from Graziano’s truck, the department said. .
The state Department of Justice, which investigates shootings, is required by state law to investigate officer-involved shootings that result in the death of unarmed civilians.
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Authorities say Savannah witnessed her mother’s murder from the back seat of her father’s truck, but did not jump out to help. The father got out of his car with a handgun and fired several shots at Martinez near the elementary school during the morning shift, prompting students and parents to take cover. He also fired shots at a father and his children near a school.
Fontana police said Graziano had moved out of the family a month or two before killing Martinez because the couple was in the midst of a divorce. Savannah left with her father, and her younger brother remained with her mother.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
