Kidnapping Victim Saved After Police Pursuit, Gunfire
Police officers dodged bullets Wednesday night as they chased two kidnapping suspects through streets and freeways from Santa Ana to Lakewood. They rescued the victim and arrested one of the suspects after their car crashed.
No one was wounded in the shooting, authorities said. Police were searching for the other suspect, who bolted from the car after the crash.
The men had kidnapped an unidentified victim and had negotiated a ransom with Santa Ana police earlier in the day, said Sgt. Raul Luna. When the men arrived at an agreed location, they noticed undercover officers and fled in their car, Luna said.
As the kidnappers drove north on the San Diego Freeway, one of them repeatedly shot at officers, Luna said. They exited in Long Beach at Studebaker Road.
At Los Coyotes Diagonal and Stevely Avenue, the car crashed in the frontyard of a home.
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