5-year-old California girl fatally shot on freeway while en route to birthday dinner
Three suspects have been arrested in connection to the fatal shooting of a 5-year-old girl along a California highway over the weekend, police said.
The girl, who has not been identified by police, was with her family Saturday night in a vehicle that was traveling south on Interstate 880 in the Bay Area when she was struck by a bullet, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Andrew Barclay with the CHP, said about 6:40 p.m. Saturday, a trooper was conducting a traffic enforcement stop along the highway when he was approached by victims of a freeway shooting who told the officer a child in their vehicle had been struck by gunfire.
The child was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, Barclay told Paste BN on Monday.
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En route to a birthday dinner
According to a fundraising page, the girl's family was en route to a birthday dinner when she was fatally shot.
During an investigation, officials said they learned the shooting took place within the city limits of Fremont, about 30 miles south of Oakland.
Police believe the shooting took place in the city of Fremont and the victim's family drove onto the freeway to contact the trooper. Fremont police initially responded to a report of gunfire at 6:37 p.m. Friday, according to Fremont police.
The shooting was reported in the 37000 block of Fremont Boulevard, which runs parallel to the interstate, and when officers arrived on scene the suspect vehicle had already fled.
Three arrests made in case
Then on Sunday about 9:30 p.m., the Santa Cruz Police Department said, an officer in Santa Cruz spotted a vehicle believed to be involved in the child's fatal shooting.
"The vehicle did not yield, and a pursuit was initiated," the Santa Cruz Police Department released in a Sunday statement. "During the pursuit on Hwy 17, officers observed the vehicle's occupants discarding a firearm from the car. The suspect driver stopped a short distance later."
Police have not yet released the the names of the suspects or said what charges they face.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.