The man wounded by sheriff’s deputies after leading them on a roughly 60-mile chase through San Bernardino County was being sought in connection with a domestic violence case, officials said Thursday.
Deputies had gone to 37-year-old Christopher Bowers’ residence in Apple Valley to question him about the case around 7:50 p.m. Wednesday night, the Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The deputies saw Bowers driving toward his home and tried to pull him over, but he failed to yield, officials said.
Instead, he got onto the 15 Freeway and headed south through the Cajon Pass, then merged onto the eastbound 10 Freeway in Ontario. A short time later, he pulled off the interstate at Citrus Avenue in Fontana.
Bowers was armed, and had pointed a gun at the deputies chasing him during the pursuit, authorities said.
Once on the Citrus Avenue overpass, deputies executed a PIT maneuver that sent Bowers’ vehicle crashing into a barrier wall. At that point, the female victim in the domestic violence case jumped out of Bowers’ car and ran to the deputies, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Bowers is accused of then reversing his sedan toward the deputies, crashing into a patrol car as one official was getting out. That’s when at least one deputy opened fire, authorities said.
The department still has not said how many shots were fired, or how many times Bowers was struck.
His vehicle was riddled with at least 15 bullet holes, and what sounds like dozens of shots fired can be heard in video of the shooting captured by another motorist. Officials have not said whether Bowers also fired his weapon.
The suspect was taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where he remained hospitalized Thursday with wounds that were not life-threatening.
The woman did not require medical attention, authorities said. She was involved in a domestic violence incident in Apple Valley on Jan. 19 in which Bowers is a suspect.
He’s now also accused of felony evading.
The Sheriff’s Department has said that Bowers was on parole at the time of the chase.