A kidnapping victim was discovered shot to death inside the trunk of a car after his alleged captor opened fire on him while sheriff’s deputies surrounded the vehicle in a quiet Southern California neighborhood.
The deadly encounter unfolded late Wednesday, July 29, in Chino Hills after authorities received reports of gunfire and someone screaming, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies were called to the 2100 block of Monteverde Drive at about 10:14 p.m. after a caller reported hearing shots and cries for help.
While heading to the scene, deputies spotted a vehicle speeding through the area and attempted to pull it over. At that point, authorities said the deputies had no idea a kidnapping had allegedly taken place.
The driver refused to stop and led deputies on a brief pursuit before the vehicle finally came to a halt on Wandering Ridge Drive.
Deputies ordered the two people inside to get out. The passenger followed their commands and was taken into custody without being injured, but the driver refused to cooperate.
The driver eventually stepped out of the vehicle, walked toward the open trunk and fired a gun into it, authorities said.
A deputy-involved shooting immediately followed, and the suspected kidnapper was struck by gunfire.
When deputies reached the vehicle, they made a horrifying discovery. An adult man was inside the trunk suffering from gunshot wounds allegedly inflicted by the suspect.
Deputies attempted lifesaving measures on both the victim and the alleged captor, but both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators later determined that the victim had allegedly been shot and abducted from the Monteverde Drive address before the pursuit began.
“It is disturbing,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Gloria Orejel told ABC7. “Apparently there was a victim inside there who had been kidnapped from the previous Monteverde Drive address.”
The passenger was detained and was not injured during the incident.
Authorities have not revealed what may have sparked the initial shooting and kidnapping or whether the victim and suspects knew one another.
No deputies were injured.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said no additional details were immediately available, but an update was expected on Friday, July 31.
The investigation remains ongoing.
