Four additional victims were identified Monday in the case against a man accused of fatally shooting a California sheriff's deputy last week, according to officials.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Nunez, 28, was fatally shot when responding to a report of a man threatening a woman with a gun in Rancho Cucamonga, about 45 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Angelo Jose Saldivar, 47, was arrested in connection with the killing.
At a press conference on Monday, San Bernardino County Sheriff District Attorney Jason Anderson said that, in addition to Saldivar's ex-wife, four witnesses were also victims in the incident.
"You can actually hear in the 911 call some of the gunshots that were fired as it relates to those four victims," Anderson said.
A criminal complaint alleges that Saldivar attempted to kidnap his ex-wife and assaulted the four other victims with a deadly weapon.
Saldivar was charged with four counts of assault with a firearm; one count of murder; one count of attempted kidnapping; one count of discharge of a firearm; one count of evading an officer; one count of false imprisonment by violence; and one count of battery on a spouse.
Anderson said it was “too early” to determine if prosecutors will pursue the death penalty.
Saldivar has his first court appearance Tuesday, according to court records, which don't show an attorney yet assigned to him.
When asked at the press conference if Saldivar was on the radar of authorities in such a way that Nunez would have had forewarning about potential violence, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said, "not to an extent where it turns to violence like this."
Nunez was shot in the head and killed just after 12:30 p.m. on Monday after arriving at the scene in the city of Rancho Cucamonga, according to authorities. He died later at a nearby hospital.
His killing triggered a high-speed chase of Saldivar, who had fled in a motorcycle, that ended with the help of an off-duty deputy, according to authorities. The off-duty deputy drove a Toyota Camry — which authorities later described as an "unmarked Sheriff’s Department vehicle" — into the bike's path and cut him off on the 210 Freeway in the city of Upland.
The motorcyclist at times reached speeds of 150 mph-plus, according to the sheriff's department, with deputies and California Highway Patrol units trailing behind, authorities said. The pursuit was captured on video.
Nunez leaves behind a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, according to the sheriff's department. The deputy and his wife were expecting another child.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered flags at the State Capitol to be flown at half-staff last week following Nunez's killing.
