A 75-year-old woman being held hostage at gunpoint in San Andreas on Thursday night was struck by fragmentation and ricocheting rounds from law enforcement firearms during an exchange of gunfire between authorities and a domestic violence suspect, Calaveras County sheriff s officials say.
A deputy was also allegedly shot by the suspect, identified as 47-year-old Mark Aitulagi Lavea of Modesto, earlier in the night during what the Sheriff s Office described as an ambush.
Both the deputy, 14-month department veteran Jonathan Brown, and hostage were transported by air ambulance to a regional trauma center, sheriff s officials said Friday. Authorities say the suspect was shot by deputies during the standoff and died at the scene.
A domestic violence suspect was killed Thursday night during an exchange of gunfire with Calaveras County law enforcement after authorities say he shot a deputy during an ambush and held a victim hostage at gunpoint.
Both the deputy and hostage, who was also struck by gunfire, remained hospitalized Friday morning but are expected to survive, according to a statement from the Calaveras County Sheriff s Office.
Law enforcement officials say the sheriff s dispatch center received a 911 call just after 10:30 p.m. on Thursday regarding an argument between a male and female at the Sierra Inn Motel. The reporting party stated a male pointed a firearm at the female victim s head, sheriff s officials said.
Updated: 6:48 PM PDT May 7, 2021 KCRA Staff An investigation is underway in Calaveras County after an argument turned into a search for a suspect and a hostage situation, resulting in the suspect s death and a hostage and deputy being injured by gunfire.Shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday, dispatchers received a call about a man and woman arguing at the Sierra Inn Motel in San Andreas. The 911 caller said that a man was seen pointing a firearm at the woman s head, according to the Calaveras County Sheriff s Office. The suspect had left the motel by the time deputies arrived. Deputies launched a domestic violence investigation and began searching for the suspect.As a deputy was interviewing the victim in the 500 block of Lewis Avenue in San Andreas near the Diamond Place Apartment Complex, the suspect ambushed the deputy and victim, according to the sheriff s office.The suspect shot the deputy in the upper body, but the deputy was able to get the victim to safe