Deputies shot and killed a 67-year-old kidnapper late Wednesday night after he opened the trunk of a Nissan Altima and fatally shot a 60-year-old victim who had been forced inside, ending a chase on Wandering Ridge Drive in Chino Hills.
The violence started just after 10 p.m. on Monteverde Drive, where deputies responded to reports of shots fired and a person yelling for help. They spotted the driver of the Nissan, tried to stop the car and watched it speed away before the pursuit ended a short distance away on a residential street.
What happened next was captured on a surveillance camera and quickly turned a kidnapping case into a fatal shooting. A passenger got out with both arms raised. The driver stepped to the trunk, opened it and fired at the victim inside before deputies opened fire. When deputies moved in, they found a man in the trunk. Both the gunman and the victim were pronounced dead at the scene, and the passenger was taken into custody.
Authorities said the victim had been abducted from a home on Monteverde Drive, forced into the trunk and driven away before the chase ended. They have said the motive is still unknown, even as they said there is no threat to the public and no outstanding suspects remain. No deputies were hurt. The identities of the two dead people have not been released.
For Gregory Uthus, who watched the scene unfold in Chino Hills, the sight was jarring. He said he was shocked and added that this does not happen in Chino Hills. Another resident, Gloria Orejel, said the scene was disturbing and described learning that there had been a kidnapping from the previous Monteverde Drive address.
Several hours later, AIR7 was over the area and evidence markers were still visible, a sign that detectives were still piecing together how a report of gunfire on Monteverde Drive turned into a death on Wandering Ridge Drive. Authorities were expected to provide an update sometime Thursday, but the central unanswered question remains why the victim was taken in the first place.
