Two hostages who were shot, one fatally, in a violent incident at a California park Thursday were a married couple, Roseville police said Friday.
James MacEgan, of Roseville, was killed and his spouse was shot and injured after a suspect took them hostage during an encounter with police at a park and shot them both, police said.
The suspect, 35-year-old Eric W. Abril, was shot by police and remained hospitalized Friday with injuries not thought to be life-threatening, Roseville police spokesman Lt. Chris Ciampa said.
The gunfire erupted at Mahany Park around 12:30 p.m., when California Highway Patrol officers attempted to serve a search warrant as part of an ongoing felony investigation, the CHP said.
The suspect fired ran and fired at CHP officers, and “an officer involved shooting occurred” as the gunman ran towards a greenbelt area, the state agency said in a statement Friday.
Abril then took the two people hostage, officials said. Roseville police say they believe the suspect shot both of them.
Police have said the wounded person’s injuries did not appear life-threatening.
Ciampa said the shooting remains under active investigation and “we’re still combing through everything.”
Roseville police said more information will be released next week as the investigation proceeds.
“We would again like to send our condolences to the victims, the victim’s family and everyone involved in yesterday’s incident,” Roseville police said in a statement. “There were heroic efforts and responses from multiple allied agencies who responded to assist during this tragic event.”
The CHP said they were preparing to serve a search warrant on the suspect of an ongoing felony investigation, later identified by Roseville police as Abril, in that city when the shooting occurred.
The incident began after CHP officers attempted to contact the suspect in the park, and he fled and shot at them, the agency said.
The CHP did not release details of what the felony investigation entailed.
The shooting happened near Little League baseball fields. There were no official events happening there at the time, but people were there doing activities.
One witness who was there with his grandson and his grandson's friend for batting practice told NBC affiliate KCRA that officers yelled at them to get down, and they ran to a dugout and got low during the shooting. He described "lots of shots."
