OAN Brooke Mallory
UPDATED 3:35 PM – Monday, April 10, 2023
California Highway Patrol (CHP) said that a 5-year-old child was shot and killed just before 7 p.m. on a freeway in the Bay Area on Saturday.
According to the Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD), two shootings were reported in the vicinity, including one on Interstate 880, close to Dixon Landing Road.
Eliyanah Crisostomo, 5, of Santa Clara was murdered in the shooting, which occurred at 6:40 p.m. on Saturday along northbound Interstate 880 in Fremont, while she and her family were en route to a birthday dinner party at Outback Steakhouse.
While Eliyanah was traveling with her family to the restaurant in Milpitas, a car drove up alongside them on I-880, and someone inside started firing rounds unpredictably. Eliyanah was hit by the third bullet, and according to those at the scene, she died about 30 seconds later.
Santa Cruz Police pulled over the vehicle that they suspected was connected to the shootings at around 9:30 p.m. and took three people into custody.
They posted a statement to Facebook on April 9th regarding the incident.
“The vehicle did not yield, and a pursuit was initiated… 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,” Santa Cruz police posted in the statement.
The firearm that was thrown from the car was later found by the Scotts Valley Police Department K9 team and taken in for evidence.
The three suspects are currently being held in Fremont. The suspects in detention may be connected to another shooting on Fremont Boulevard just minutes before the horrific I-880 shooting, claims a Milpitas councilmember with close ties to the police.
Authorities believe the freeway shooting was likely gang-related.
Although the SCPD reported on Monday that suspects who may be connected to the shooting have been detained, the California Highway Patrol (CHP), which is the leading agency in the investigation, previously stated that no suspects were in custody.
On April 21st, Eliyanah would have turned six years old, according to her relatives.
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