Ex-Police Officer Elias Huizar Accused of Killing His Ex-Wife & Girlfriend, Abducting Baby

In a tragic conclusion to a distressing series of events, Elias Huizar, a 40-year-old former officer with the Yakima Police Department and a suspect in two homicides, has died following a high-speed police chase. Oregon State Police Capt. Kyle Kennedy confirmed during a press conference that Huizar succumbed to a self-inflicted gunshot wound after his vehicle crashed during a pursuit on Tuesday, April 23.

The dramatic chase began when Oregon State Patrol spotted Huizar’s vehicle heading southbound on Interstate 5 near Eugene, Oregon, around 3 p.m. local time. Authorities quickly initiated a pursuit that ended abruptly when Huizar’s car collided with a commercial vehicle that was stopped on the interstate due to another unrelated accident. According to the West Richland Police Department, after the crash, Huizar fatally shot himself.

Amidst this harrowing incident, there was a small glimmer of hope. Roman Santos, a 1-year-old child who was in the car with Huizar at the time of the chase, was found unharmed. He was safely taken into custody by OSP troopers and Capt. Kennedy later reassured the public during the press conference that the child was “doing well.”

Capt. Kennedy reflected on the day’s tense events, expressing relief and gratitude for the safe recovery of the young child. “All day our thoughts have been how to rescue this young boy from a very, very dangerous situation, and we’re thankful for the outcome that occurred,” he said.

The backdrop to this dramatic chase was a violent episode that unfolded the previous day at William Wiley Elementary School in West Richland, Washington. At approximately 3:23 p.m. local time on April 22, police responded to a shooting at the school where they found one adult female dead at the scene. The West Richland Police Department immediately launched an investigation, treating the shooting as an isolated incident, and quickly identified Huizar as a person of interest who had fled the scene.

Following the issuance of an Amber Alert by Washington State Patrol on X (formerly known as Twitter), authorities continued their search for Huizar. During this time, while serving a search warrant at Huizar’s residence, detectives and collaborating agencies uncovered a second crime scene. They found a second homicide victim inside the house. Details about the victim’s identity were initially withheld, except to confirm that it was not Huizar but rather a known associate of his.

The sequence of events that led to the final confrontation on Interstate 5 was marked by rapid developments and coordination among various law enforcement agencies. The tragic outcomes highlight the complex and often perilous nature of managing such critical incidents, involving both active crime scenes and high-risk pursuits. The incidents left a community in mourning and a series of unanswered questions about the motives and circumstances that led to such a drastic series of actions by a former law enforcement officer.