CHP officer and suspect shot following chase in Tulare County

ByABC30.Com Staff KFSN logo
Sunday, February 21, 2021
CHP officer and suspect shot following chase in Tulare County
A California Highway Patrol officer and a suspect were shot after a chase involving several law enforcement agencies ended with an exchange of gunfire in Tulare County on Friday.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- UPDATE: The suspect involved in Friday's police chase that followed with both the suspect and a CHP officer being shot has been identified as 32-year-old Marvin Joseph Chang.

Authorities say that Chang remains in critical condition.

The original story follows below.

A police pursuit that started at Sequoia National Park and led law enforcement through Tulare County ended in gunshots and injuries for both an officer and the suspect.

It was about 9:30 Friday morning when Sequoia National Park rangers responded to a report of a man who waved a gun at a group of visitors.

Sequoia National Park official Sintia C. Kawasaki-Yee says he was also making threatening comments.

Tulare Sheriff Mike Boudreaux says an argument broke out. The suspect slashed a victim's tires.

The family of visitors was able to get away and the suspect drove off.

As authorities searched for the man, state officers with CAL FIRE spotted the suspect vehicle - a white Toyota Prius - near a bridge in the area.

Boudreaux says officers pulled over the driver, he got out and started firing at them.

A California Highway Patrol officer and a suspect were shot after a chase involving several law enforcement agencies ended with an exchange of gunfire in Tulare County on Friday.

The CAL FIRE officers returned fire, but the man jumped back in the Prius and drove away.

"We are very fortunate that we don't have seriously injured CAL FIRE officers," says Boudreaux.

Officers from multiple agencies continued the chase down Highway 198 just outside Woodlake.

Boudreaux said that as one deputy was laying spike strips to stop the suspect's vehicle, the suspect started firing at him and other deputies in the area.

The suspect drove into an orchard, jumped out of the car, and ran into the field. CHP officers approached his vehicle.

"The suspect snuck their way in behind the officer and began to fight with the officer. There was a very significant physical battle," says Boudreaux.

At some point, a shot was fired, and an officer was hit in the shoulder.

Boudreaux says the suspect turned his gun toward deputies who ran into the field, and deputies shot back, hitting the suspect in the leg.

The injured CHP officer was airlifted to a hospital.

She's expected to survive.

The suspect was shot in the leg and also taken to a local hospital where he's in critical condition. Authorities have yet to release his identity.