SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A police chase quickly turned violent Monday when a kidnapping suspect fired rifle bullets at a Savannah Police cruiser. Chief Lenny Gunther told WSAV his officers weren’t hurt by the gunfire, and the kidnapping victim is now safe.
Police say around 5 p.m. Monday, officers responded to Lloyd Street for a reported kidnapping case. Officers then located the suspect’s vehicle, which had been reported stolen out of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Police attempted a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled.
A dramatic search for the two suspects spanned blocks through the city’s midtown neighborhood as SWAT officers searched for the two people who ran from police. While pursuing the vehicle, a male passenger fired several shots toward the police cruiser.
Law enforcement sources say the police car was hit by several rounds, but the officer was not injured. The vehicle the suspects were in was later found unoccupied on E. 35th Street and towed from the scene.
The female kidnapping victim was found unharmed on Hamilton Street shortly thereafter.
SWAT officers went door to door for several hours searching for the people who ran, but officers were unable to locate the suspects.
A WSAV viewer said he spotted police officers in a high-speed chase with the suspects on the Truman Parkway just after 5 o’clock on Monday afternoon. Savannah’s Police Chief told Lead Investigative Reporter Brett Buffington that he wasn’t certain where the pursuit started, but it ended just short of the intersection of East 34th and Habersham Street.
Police urge anyone with information on the incident to contact the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 912-525-3124 or CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through a CrimeStoppers online tip portal at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=757.
