Police shot and killed a man after he allegedly robbed a bank in Corona, Calif. and led officers in a car chase that ended in Chino on Feb. 4.
Few details were released about the shooting, which happened on Pine Avenue, between Fern and Euclid avenues in Chino.
The alleged bank robber, who remained unidentified, help up Pacific Premiere Bank in a “take-over style,” ordering everyone in the building to a specific area of the bank at just after 4 pm, said Sgt. Brent Nelson, a Corona police spokesman.
Nelson declined to specify which area of the building, but said, “A gun was seen at the bank.”
Shortly after the suspect was fatally shot, police said he carjacked a minivan after the robbery, but police were not sure who owned the vehicle.
Corona officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from outside the bank and located the stolen minivan using a tracking device planted by the bank, Nelson said.
Officers attempted to pull over the suspect, but the man did not yield, leading police in pursuit down to Chino. He drove east on Pine Avenue, which is partly closed for construction, and crashed before reaching the next stoplight at Euclid Avenue.
The man was shot on the closed road separating an open field from a business park. A witness said he heard gunfire and then saw several officers swarming the area before opening gun fire.
Nelson did not say why, and declined to say whether a gun was found at the shooting scene.
He referred all questions about the killing to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
Investigators from the California Highway Patrol, Corona police, Sheriff’s Department and Coroner’s Office were also at the scene shortly after the incident.
(With reports from the Inland Empire Daily Bulletin)
