A suspect wanted for shooting a woman to death in Carlsbad during a carjacking got into a shootout with pursuing officers from Newport Beach and Irvine in Laguna Hills and was fatally wounded Saturday morning, Sept. 20, authorities said.
The chain of events started at 9:53 p.m. Friday when Carlsbad police officers responded to a report of gunfire in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 2300 block of Rising Glen Way, according to a Carlsbad Police Department statement.
The arriving officers found a woman suffering from gunshot wounds who was unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman’s vehicle was taken during the shooting, police said.
Newport Beach police spotted the vehicle through License Plate Reader technology and a pursuit ensued, according to Carlsbad police. During the pursuit, the suspect exited the 5 Freeway at El Toro Road, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department reported.
“The suspect exited his vehicle near El Toro Road and (Avenida De La) Carlota and fired a gun at officers,” the sheriff’s department said. “Officers from the Newport Beach Police Department and an officer from the Irvine Police returned fire. The suspect was struck. No officers were injured.”
Paramedics rushed the suspect to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is overseeing the investigation into the shootout, according to Carlsbad police.