Teenage kidnapping victim Savannah Graziano was gunned down by deputies while running towards them seeking help, released helicopter footage shows

Savannah Graziano, 15, was killed along the 15 freeway in Hesperia, California, on September 27, 2022, by responding officers

Her father, Anthony John Graziano, 45, had murdered his estranged wife Tracy Martinez and abducted his daughter who was now fleeing the abduction

Authorities previously claimed Savannah Graziano was shot because she was wearing tactical equipment and fired at cops

The released aerial footage appears to prove that she was unarmed  

Footage shows Savannah following cops’ instructions, crawling on her hands and knees along the 15 freeway as a deputy takes cover by a police SUV

She then killed in a hail of gunfire from officers 

‘Stop shooting her! He’s in the car! Stop! She’s OK! He’s in the car! … Stop!’ a deputy is heard pleading

The incident remains under investigation by California’s Dept of Justice under a law that requires cops involved in killings be named publicly

The San Bernardino sheriff’s dept has faced increased scrutiny in recent months, facing several wrongful arrests and death lawsuits from the last year

Police in California have released 2022 video of a teenage girl who was shot dead as she ran toward officers for help to escape her kidnapper father, all while one deputy pleaded for them to hold their fire

A 15-year-old California girl died after she was shot by police as she ran toward them for help. Shocking video footage shows the teenager who had being kidnapped by her father, was blasted just as a deputy helplessly begged colleagues to stop firing at the help seeking kidnap victim. 
Savannah Graziano, 15, was killed on September 27, 2022, after her father, Anthony John Graziano, 45, had murdered his estranged wife Tracy Martinez, then abducted his daughter. 
In the helicopter recorded footage, Savannah was seen following cops’ instructions, crawling on her hands and knees along the 15 freeway in Hesperia, California, as a deputy takes cover by a police SUV before she is shot dead in a hail of gunfire. 
In the footage, a deputy is heard pleading, ‘Stop shooting her! He’s in the car! Stop! She’s OK! He’s in the car! … Stop!’
Law enforcement had previously claimed Savannah was shot because she was wearing tactical equipment and fired back, however the footage appears to prove that she was unarmed.  

Savannah Graziano, [photo], 15, was killed by cops from whom she was expecting help, on September 27, 2022. Her father, Anthony John Graziano, had murdered his estranged wife Tracy Martinez a day earlier and abducted his daughter. She was then trying to escape

15-year-old kidnap victim Savannah Graziano is gunned down by deputies while running towards them for help on September 27, 2022

Savannah’s father Graziano Anthony John Graziano [photo], had killed his estranged wife the day before and abducted their daughter

The tragic video of the shooting was released Monday after journalists requested it under the California Public Records Act. 
When Tracy was killed, investigators issued an AMBER Alert for the missing teenager, and quickly responded when a civilian spotted the dad and daughter. 
San Bernadino County sheriff’s department said deputies tried to pull Anthony Graziano’s truck over just before 11am on September 27, 2022, when they came under fire from the suspect who armed with a semiautomatic weapon, officials with the . 
Deputies chased the fleeing truck for about 70 miles, as the suspect continued to fire at them before he tried unsuccessfully to drive his vehicle up an embankment. At the time police claimed that Savannah who was captive in the car, may have been firing from the vehicle as well. 
The newly released footage includes a camera from the sheriff’s department helicopter showing the fugitive coming to a stop on the side of the road, about 80 miles from downtown Los Angeles, then attempting to reverse onto the road as he fires again at the pursuit party. 
The 15-year-old Savannah can then be seen getting out of the car, as an officer says over the radio: ‘The girl’s out, the female juvie is out. She’s out on the passenger side.’
She keeps a low crouch but starts moving quickly toward the officers when suddenly a gunshot rings out and the footage blurs Graziano’s body.
The sheriff’s department deputies were not wearing body cameras but audio was released from an officer near the girl as she was getting out. 
He repeatedly yells: ‘Passenger, get out! Come here! Come to me! Come, come, come… walk, walk, walk.’ 
Back over the radio, after the 15-year-old was shot, an officer can then be heard with a resigned ‘oh, no.’

Authorities followed the truck for about 70 miles, as the father continued to fire at them before Graziano tried and failed to take his vehicle up an embankment. He came to a stop on the side of the road

The teen Savannah Graziano is seen assume a low crouch, while moving rapidly towards the officers when suddenly a gunshot rings out and the footage blurs Graziano’s body

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said at the time of the shooting that it looked like Graziano was running toward deputies wearing ‘tactical gear,’ but the aerial footage shows that while Savannah is clearly speeding up, she’s still moving in a crouch and her outfit remains unclear.
One deputy was injured by shrapnel during the firefight, Dicus said. 
Officials have also suggested it’s possible that Savannah fired at officers along with her father, but this remains under investigation. 

‘Passenger, get out! Come here! Come to me! Come, come, come… walk, walk, walk,’ a deputy yelled toward the teen who was then shot by other officers

Officials previously said the deputies involved had a different view of the truck as they were in a higher elevation to where it stopped. The deputies fired because they saw a person get out of the truck and head toward the nearest deputy, officials said, unaware he had called to her

Weapons, ammunition, flash-bang and smoke grenades and tactical helmets were found at the scene.
The firearms were legally owned by Graziano, who was not or probation or parole. Savannah’s younger brother told investigators the siblings grew up around guns.
Savannah was pronounced dead at the scene, while her father Anthony was also eventually shot dead, though the footage doesn’t show when that occurred. 
‘There needs to be better training so that unarmed people aren’t killed,’ Savannah’s uncle CJ Wyatt, said. 

After Tracy was killed, i. A civilian spotted the dad, [photo], with his daughter and police responded investigators issued an AMBER Alert for the teen

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said at the time of the shooting that it looked like Graziano was running toward deputies wearing ‘tactical gear,’ but the aerial footage shows that while Savannah is clearly speeding up, she’s still moving in a crouch and her outfit remains unclear

Tracy Martinez, [photo], was murdered by her estranged husband Anthony Graziano in Sept 2022, amidst their divorce. Graziano shot Martinez multiple times and also fired on a nearby car. Martinez was able to identify her killer before she died

Savannah was seen following cops’ instructions in the moments before she was shot dead  

‘Hopefully this video can be used for training – something has to be done differently. She didn’t have to die,’ Tracy’s brother said. 
Wyatt ultimately places the blame on Savannah’s ‘abusive and manipulative’ father, Anthony.
‘She was a really sweet girl at her core, and she didn’t deserve this.’

Cops chased Graziano’s truck for about 70 miles, as Graziano continued to fire at cops before he tried and failed to take his vehicle up an embankment. He was killed in the firefight with deputies

Graziano shot Martinez multiple times and also turned and fired on a nearby car with daughter Savannah in the backseat. Witnesses and two videos – one from a bystander and another from a doorbell – show she stayed still as her mother screamed. ‘She’s just sitting in the backseat,’ police said. 
Authorities had previously said the teen was somewhere else during her mother´s killing and was later abducted by her father.
Martinez was able to identify her killer as Graziano before she died, although she did not indicate that her daughter being there.
Family members told investigators that the couple had been going through a divorce. Martinez was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Law enforcement officers and vehicles surrounded the vehicle (far left) driven by Anthony John Graziano, 45, following a gun battle

Murder and kidnap suspect, John Adam Graziano was also killed in the shootout with cops which downed his daughter

The incident remains under investigation by the state’s Department of Justice under a law that requires that police involved in killings be named publicly

Neither video showed the shooting and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office provided no further statement or details on the shooting either. 
The earlier officials version was that the deputies involved had a different view of the truck as they were in a higher elevation to where it stopped – that deputies fired because they saw a figure get out of the truck and head toward the nearest deputy, officials said, unaware he had called to her.  
The incident remains under investigation by the state’s Department of Justice under a law that requires that police involved in killings be named publicly. 
The sheriff’s department has faced increased scrutiny in recent months as its faces several wrongful arrests and death lawsuits last year.