The shooting followed a reported three-day assault and closed eastbound Interstate 80 in Citrus Heights.
CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA — Sacramento County deputies shot and killed a domestic violence suspect Sunday morning after a pursuit ended on Interstate 80 near Antelope Road, closing eastbound lanes for hours and backing up traffic through part of Citrus Heights, officials said.
The shooting drew a large law enforcement response to one of the Sacramento region’s busiest freeway corridors. Sheriff’s officials said the pursuit began after deputies responded to a report of a badly injured woman who had escaped an assault. The suspect’s name had not been released Sunday, and the investigation remained open as deputies, traffic officials and investigators worked at the scene.
The case began around 10 a.m. Sunday, when several people called authorities after seeing a woman who was bleeding and asking for help in a Sacramento County neighborhood, sheriff’s officials said. Residents let her inside while she waited for deputies. The woman told investigators that her former partner had violently assaulted her for three days and that she escaped after pretending to be dead. Sheriff’s officials said she reported being strangled until she lost consciousness. Deputies went to the home where the assaults were reported but did not find the man there. The Sheriff’s Office later described the case as a domestic violence investigation that quickly turned into a search for an armed suspect.
Deputies found a vehicle believed to be connected to the suspect near Fair Oaks Boulevard and Kenneth Avenue, officials said. When deputies tried to stop the vehicle, the driver fled, leading them onto Interstate 80. The pursuit ended near the weigh station between Greenback Lane and Antelope Road in Citrus Heights. The Sheriff’s Office said an “officer-involved shooting” happened at about 10:47 a.m. Sgt. Edward Igoe said the suspect died and that the deputies involved were not hurt. Officials did not immediately say how many deputies fired, whether the suspect fired a weapon, or what happened in the moments before the shooting.
The woman told deputies the suspect was “always armed with a pistol,” according to sheriff’s officials. Investigators had not said by Sunday afternoon whether a gun was recovered at the freeway scene. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office did not release the woman’s name, the suspect’s name or the exact location of the reported assaults. Officials also did not release the woman’s condition beyond describing her as badly hurt when she sought help. The reported violence, the search for the suspect and the shooting all unfolded within about an hour, turning a domestic violence call into a major freeway closure during the holiday weekend.
The shooting stopped traffic near a stretch of I-80 that carries drivers between Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Roseville and other parts of Placer County. Eastbound lanes were closed at Greenback Lane after the shooting. Westbound lanes were also closed for a time but later reopened, officials said. Caltrans District 3 spokesperson Steve Nelson said the eastbound closure covered about a mile near the scene, with traffic backed up another 3 to 4 miles shortly after noon. Drivers were diverted away from the area as investigators marked evidence, documented the scene and kept traffic away from the stopped vehicles and law enforcement equipment.
The deputies involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, a standard step after a deputy-involved shooting. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said the case would be reviewed under its officer-involved shooting process. Such investigations usually examine radio traffic, witness statements, vehicle positions, video, physical evidence and the deputies’ use of force. The Sheriff’s Office had not announced a time for releasing body-camera video or other records tied to the shooting. State law can require certain records and video from fatal police shootings to be released after investigators complete initial steps and review privacy and evidence issues.
The closure left drivers stuck near the Greenback Lane and Antelope Road exits as patrol vehicles, fire crews and freeway workers filled the area. News footage showed traffic slowed or stopped as authorities kept eastbound lanes blocked. The Sheriff’s Office said early in the response that shots had been fired during the pursuit and that all deputies involved were safe. Officials did not report any injuries to other drivers. The case also brought renewed attention to domestic violence calls, which can move fast and place victims, officers and bystanders in danger when a suspect flees into public spaces.
By Sunday evening, the suspect was dead, the injured woman’s full condition had not been released and investigators had not named the deputies involved. The next major step is the release of more findings from the Sheriff’s Office review, including the suspect’s identity and a clearer account of what led deputies to open fire.
Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.