A former Washington state police officer accused of killing his ex-wife and his girlfriend, as well as kidnapping a baby, shot himself during a pursuit with police in Oregon, authorities said Tuesday.
The incident occurred about 3 p.m. when Oregon State Patrol troopers saw Elias Huizar, 39, driving on Interstate 5 near Eugene, police said. A pursuit ensued that ended with the suspect shooting himself in the head, according to West Richland police in Washington state.
His current condition was unknown, the police department said.
The 1-year-old boy Huizar had allegedly kidnapped was safely taken by troopers, West Richland police said. Authorities did not detail how they believed the child was kidnapped
Huizar was charged with first-degree murder in Monday’s slaying of Amber Rodriguez, 31, at Wiley Elementary School in West Richland as classes were being let out shortly before 3:30 p.m., Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference. In court filings, authorities said Rodriguez was identified after the killing in part through her school employee ID.
The charge of murder includes an aggravated circumstance allegation of domestic violence, as well as a firearm enhancement, Eisinger said.
Huizar was also being investigated in the death of a woman whose body was discovered later Monday when authorities searched his home. That victim has not been identified but was described in an Amber Alert from Washington State Patrol as Huizar’s girlfriend.
At the time of the shooting at the school, Huizar was under conditional freedom after being accused of third-degree rape of a child and second-degree rape, Eisinger said. His total bail had been set at $250,000, the prosecutor noted.
Washington State Patrol had issued an Amber Alert for the 1-year-old. The state patrol had said Huizar and the boy shared the same last name, but the relationship between them was not immediately clear Tuesday afternoon.
The alert was extended from Washington to Oregon as well as other places in the west, Eisinger said. The alert also said the women killed were Huizar’s ex-wife and his girlfriend.
The West Richland Police Department said earlier that Huizar was “armed and considered dangerous, and is likely to commit more crimes.” Portland police told West Richland authorities that Huizar was seen in the Oregon city overnight, possibly driving a black sedan.
The Yakima Police Department in Washington said Huizar was an officer there from 2013 to 2022.
“He did serve as a school resource officer for a period of time, at a couple schools during his employment. Mr. Huizar resigned in February of 2022, immediately following discipline,” a department spokesperson said.
Shelley Redinger, superintendent of the Richland School District, said Huizar passed background checks and answered no to questions that included whether he had ever resigned from an employer with allegations of misconduct pending or if he’d ever been the subject of a workplace investigation accusing him of misconduct.
Redinger said Huizar’s last day as a district employee was in June 2023.
“We are extremely disheartened. That information about his past was not disclosed to us,” she said. “It is expectation for individuals who apply for employment with the Richland school district to be forthcoming and truthful in their applications.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
