Highway 50 fully reopens after deadly afternoon standoff in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
A man fatally shot a woman in the parking lot of a Panera Bread restaurant in Sacramento on Tuesday and then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a standoff with law enforcement that shut down Highway 50 on Tuesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said.
The highway has now fully reopened.
The sheriff’s office said that at approximately 3 p.m., the first shooting was reported in the 800 block of Howe Avenue.
Sheriff’s Lt. Amar Gandhi said preliminary information shows a man chased the victim and then shot and executed her in front of several witnesses in the Panera Bread parking lot on the corner of Howe and Northrup avenues.
The Fire Department pronounced the woman dead at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said witnesses shared an image of the vehicle’s license plate.
After entering the vehicle into the Flock system of license plate readers, deputies learned “almost instantly” of its last location, Gandhi said.
Deputies with SacRT located the vehicle near Highway 50 and Watt Avenue minutes later, Gandhi said.
As they attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver stopped his car on the freeway and refused to get out of the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. The man then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
LiveCopter 3 footage captured the standoff
LiveCopter 3 aerial footage after 3:20 p.m. showed law enforcement personnel surrounding the vehicle with their guns drawn. Surveillance drones could be seen hovering close to the car to assist law enforcement.
Later, law enforcement personnel could be seen banging out the vehicle’s windows and then removing the man from the vehicle. He was unresponsive.
This was the second time Highway 50 was shut down today.
Early Tuesday morning, officers from three separate law enforcement agencies shot at a driver after a pursuit that ended along Highway 50 near Hazel Avenue. The confrontation left the driver dead.
Learn more about that shooting here.
This story is developing. Stay with KCRA 3 for updates.
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