The Associated Press
ELK GROVE, California (AP) -- A man with a 12-gauge shotgun went on a shooting spree along a busy downtown street, killing one person and wounding four others before a deputy shot him, officials said Sunday.
Authorities said Aaron Norman Dunn, 28, randomly shot at people, hitting three, as he walked down the street Saturday night. Two other people were injured by glass when bullets hit their car windshields.
Dunn, who is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, was in critical condition at a hospital, said Sacramento County sheriff’s Sgt. R.L. Davis.
The first victim was shot in the head as he sat in his car with his wife and two children in front of a restaurant, Davis said. He was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
Dunn sped away in his car but crashed down the road, then continued on foot, shooting several rounds, Davis said.
A man was shot in the face and died, while another man was then shot in the back, Davis said.
As two sheriff’s deputies confronted the shooter, one shielded an injured victim with her body to protect him from being shot again, Davis said. Then one of the deputies shot Dunn when the suspect did not give up his weapon.
“It’s a true test of one’s fortitude to put oneself in that position and make that sacrifice,” Davis said.
The coroner’s office identified the dead man as John Johnson, 46, of Elk Grove. The man shot in the back was hospitalized, but no information about his condition was immediately available.
Davis declined to identify the deputies, except to say they were both women -- one with four years on the department, the other with six years.
Both deputies were placed on paid administrative leave, as part of routine procedure, pending an internal investigation, Davis said.