Police chase through Delaware and Pennsylvania ends with shootout; suspect killed

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI Associated Press

A police pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said.

Wilmington police began their pursuit of the 23-year-old woman shortly before noon Tuesday at a Delaware residence, seeking to arrest her on a warrant stemming from a December 2023 shooting. She fled the home in a vehicle and rammed multiple police vehicles before driving along I-95 northbound into Pennsylvania, as Wilmington officers and Delaware state police troopers followed her.

Shortly after entering Pennsylvania, the woman crashed her vehicle and started firing at the officers, and two troopers returned fire, authorities said. It’s not known if the woman was struck by any shots at that time, authorities said.

The woman then carjacked another vehicle and drove to Chester, where she crashed into a structure. She then entered a home where she was confronted by a mother with her baby before she took another car and tried to flee again, authorities said.

However, several officers — including three from Wilmington, five Delaware state troopers and individual officers from Trainer and Chester in Pennsylvania — started shooting at the vehicle, and the woman soon succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

The woman’s name has not been released pending notification of relatives.

One Wilmington officer was treated at a hospital for an undisclosed minor injury. No other injuries were reported in the chase or related incidents.

The Wilmington officers who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation, which is standard policy in police-related shootings. Authorities have not released the names of the law enforcement officers involved in the pursuit or the shootings.