On Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013, at approximately 12:38 a.m., there was a verbal contact between the occupants of one car (suspects) and the occupants of a second car, which was a family including a 7-year old girl. The family drove away from the gas station at Fort Tejon Rd and Pearblossom Hwy (“Four Points”) in Palmdale. The family was followed by a vehicle which contained several suspects.

As the family drove through the intersection at Sunburst Drive/Stratford Drive in the City of Palmdale, multiple gunshots rang out from the suspects vehicle towards the family’s vehicle. The suspects in their vehicle chased the family’s vehicle through a residential neighborhood firing several more times.

After evading the suspects vehicle, the family discovered their seven year old girl had sustained a gunshot wound and called for help. The child was transported to a hospital by Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel. She is described as being in extremely critical condition.

A short time after the shooting, a sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the surrounding neighborhood and saw a vehicle matching the description of the suspects vehicle. A felony traffic stop was conducted by deputies and three suspects were detained without incident. All three suspects were booked at Palmdale Sheriff’s Station for Attempted Murder.

Multiple crime scenes are being held for investigation and the processing of evidence.

It is not yet clear as to the motivation for the shooting or if there was any type of confrontation at the gas station prior to the shooting.

If you have any information about this incident, please contact Palmdale Sheriff’s Station detectives at (661) 272-2400.