UPDATE: The manhunt for an ex-police officer accused of killing two women and abducting a young boy in Washington state has come to an end after he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities have confirmed.
Oregon State Police troopers began pursuing Elias Huizar Tuesday afternoon after they spotted his car near Eugene, Ore.
“There was a minor collision (on the highway), and the suspect vehicle lost control. There was an exchange of gunfire at this location before the suspect vehicle fled again … on the interstate,” Oregon State Police Capt. Kyle Kennedy told reporters.
No one was injured in the gunfire, said Kennedy, but as Huizar fled police he crashed into another vehicle and spun into a median.
“As troopers contacted the suspect vehicle, the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Kennedy said.
The 1-year-old boy travelling in the car, Roman Santos, was in the vehicle uninjured, Kennedy said. Washington State Police had issued an Amber Alert for the boy Monday night.
Officers safely removed him, and he was put in the care of Oregon authorities, police said.
Washington state authorities had initially said the boy’s name was Roman Huizar, through the Amber Alert.
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ORIGINAL: A manhunt is underway in central Washington as police search for a former police officer accused of murdering two women this week and then abducting a one-year-old child as he set out on the run.
Police have identified the man as 40-year-old Elias Huizar, and say that he is suspected of killing both his ex-wife and current girlfriend.
Huizar is “armed and considered dangerous, and is likely to commit more crimes,” Washington State Patrol says. In an Amber Alert, issued late Monday evening, police said Huizar is “possibly headed to Mexico,” with 1-year-old Roman Huizar.
The relationship between the suspect and child was not made clear by officials.
The investigation began Monday afternoon after a woman was shot dead outside Wiley Elementary School in West Richland, Wash. at the end of the school day.
In a statement, West Richland Police Department said they were called shortly after the school’s dismissal time and “one adult female was pronounced deceased at the scene outside the school.”
The shooter, they said, fled the scene and the school was placed on lockdown. No one else was injured in the incident and police said at this point they believed it was an isolated incident.
Later that night, however, police said the body of a second woman was found at Huizar’s home after they obtained a search warrant. The only information given was that the woman was a “known associate of the suspect.”
While police have not identified either suspect, Huizar’s ex-wife is listed as an educator Wiley Elementary School, according to CNN.
Local media report that Huizar previously worked as a police officer in the nearby town of Yakima.
Earlier this year he was accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl and charged with second-degree rape and furnishing alcohol for minors, according to CBS affiliate KEPR.
Separately, Huizar faces a third-degree rape charge for allegedly having an intimate relationship over several years with a girl who is now 17 years old, the station reports.
According to court documents viewed by the Tri-City Herald, Huizar’s ex-wife had filed for a protection order in February of this year after learning of his arrest on the rape charge. She wrote that she believed Huizar would harm her and their children.
She also wrote she had been the victim of harassment from her ex-husband since their 2020 divorce and that she believed he was mentally and emotionally unstable. She also revealed that he owned guns.
The Amber Alert for Roman Huizar extends from Washington into Oregon. Police believe Huizar is travelling in a silver 2009 Toyota Corolla with Washington state license plates with the number CBZ4745.
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