Who Was Savannah Graziano? Abducted Teen Girl Shot Dead By US Police

In September 2022, a California police team was dispatched to rescue Savannah Graziano (15) from her kidnapper father. New footage released on March 29 shows that the teenage girl was shot down by the cops instead. The incident unfolded when officers in San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, began chasing the vehicle she and her father Anthony, who had kidnapped her, were in. Reportedly, Anthony had killed Savannah's mother the previous day. The recently released footage filmed by a California Highway Patrol helicopter shows their vehicle speeding at 175 kilometres an hour, with multiple shots fired at officers from inside Graziano’s vehicle.

The chase ended after Anthony drove the wrong way and their vehicle ended up surrounded by the police. The recently released video shows 15-year-old Savannah stepping out and walking towards the police van when she was suddenly shot down by the police. The names of the officers have not been released.

Video Shows Chilling Details

When Savannah walked out of her father's vehicle, a male police officer can be heard saying, "The girl’s out. The female is out. She’s out on the passenger side." Savannah can be seen crouching down on the ground for a few seconds before getting back up to walk towards the police vehicle. 

Suddenly, a gunshot is heard and a police officer can be heard saying, "Oh no!" Amid heavy gunfire, the officer can be heard screaming, "Hey! Stop! Stop shooting her. He’s in the car!” The teenager was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead. San Bernardino County Sheriff-Coroner, Shannon Dicus, who released the footage, described the details.

"You can hear him (police) calling her over and telling other deputies that the person who exited the truck was the passenger and for them to stop firing, but it was too late," he said. "I hope that this video will be watched in its entirety and provide insight into the unfortunate events that unfolded that day."

Police said that multiple weapons, items of body armour, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, were found in the pickup truck which Anthony was driving. The incident is being investigated by California’s Department of Justice (DOJ). Dicus said, “I would ask the public to allow the DOJ to complete its independent investigation before concluding.”