ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A man fleeing police in Northern California took two hostages at a public park on Thursday, killing one of them and wounding a California Highway Patrol officer before surrendering, authorities said.
The events played out in Roseville, a city of about 150,000 northeast of Sacramento, in the early afternoon as families played at nearby baseball fields and children attended camp.
The California Highway Patrol officer was in stable condition at the hospital. The names of the two people taken hostage, including the one who died, were not released. The condition of the second hostage was unknown. Both were adults.
The incident unfolded when highway patrol officers were looking to serve the man a warrant, prompting him to shoot at and wound an officer. The Roseville Police Department received a radio call around 12:30 p.m. alerting them an officer had been shot, Capt. Kelby Newton said. When they arrived, the suspect was seen carrying a gun and running. He then grabbed two civilians in the park and held them, hostage, shooting both, Newton said.
The names of the suspect and victims were not released. Newton said he didn’t know what prompted the warrant.
Victor Michael was at batting practice with his child at Mahany Park when he saw what he thought were kids playing paintball. But then he heard police tell someone to stop and “get down.” Then, gunfire.
“I can’t tell you who shot first, I just know that I saw a suspect look back and the volley of fire just went off. It was crazy,” Michael said. “I just told my kid and everybody to get down.”
Michael said he heard between 20 and 30 gunshots in all. He said he and his child took refuge behind the tires of his truck.
The sprawling park tucked into a quiet suburb of Sacramento includes a sports complex, public library, aquatics center, and nature trails. The fitness center and library were temporarily locked down, and students attending camps were taken to a nearby school to be reunited with their families.
Roseville is about 20 miles northeast of Sacramento.
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Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Adam Beam in Sacramento, California, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.
