Update: 17-year-old shot by law enforcement officers in Modesto in critical condition
Two teenagers were shot in the officer-involved shooting following a chase in Modesto early Tuesday morning, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’’s Department reported.
The 17-year-old driver of the vehicle is listed in critical condition while the other teen was released from a hospital.
All five passengers in the vehicle that led officers on a more than seven-mile pursuit were teenagers.
Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Sgt. Luke Schwartz said a deputy tried to pull over a vehicle at North Carpenter Road and Torrid Avenue around 2 a.m. He said the attempted stop was for vehicle code violations but would not offer further details.
The driver failed to yield and a pursuit ensued.
Modesto Police Department officers joined in the chase, which went south through downtown then southeast into the Beard Industrial District south of Yosemite Boulevard. At one point, the driver of the car tried to use the vehicle as a weapon by driving it toward officers.
The pursuit ended at McClure and Finch Roads, about seven miles from where it started, when officers used a police intervention technique to stop the vehicle. In a “PIT” maneuver, a pursuing law enforcement officer uses a vehicle to tactically push a car, forcing it sideways to a stop. The shooting occurred shortly after.
Schwartz wouldn’t say what led to the shooting or how many deputies fired. Modesto Police Officers were at the scene but were not involved in the shooting, he said.
The four passengers were examined and released by hospital staff. Schwartz would not say if any of them were arrested.
The sheriff’s office did not specify the injuries of the second person shot.
No deputies were injured.
According to the release, the department will release additional details and video from body worn cameras “as soon as possible.”
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 7:27 AM.
