What we know about the deadly Highway 50 standoff and Panera Bread shooting in Sacramento
Sacramento sheriff identifies man who killed himself after freeway standoff, saying he stalked a woman for months before killing her outside a Panera Bread.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
A 22-year-old man fatally shot a 38-year-old woman in the parking lot of a Panera Bread restaurant in Sacramento on Tuesday after having stalked her for months, leading to a standoff with law enforcement that shut down Highway 50 for several hours on Tuesday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said.
The killer, identified as Rohit Rohit, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the roadway.
The woman who died has not yet been identified.
What we know about the initial shooting at Panera Bread and the killer’s stalking history
The sheriff’s office said that at approximately 3 p.m., the first shooting was reported in the Panera Bread parking lot at Howe and Northrop avenues.
Sheriff’s Lt. Amar Gandhi said in a statement that Rohit had been stalking the 38-year-old woman since she discovered an Apple AirTag under her car’s hood in January.
The sheriff’s office said the harassment and stalking worsened, describing one instance in which Rohit deflated the woman’s vehicle and followed her to work so he could offer her help. Rohit also allegedly got a copy of the woman’s apartment key and entered her home while she was sleeping.
When the woman learned of this the following morning, the sheriff’s office said Rohit claimed he entered her apartment out of concern that something had happened to her when she did not answer.
Despite these instances, the sheriff’s office said the woman initially declined to pursue charges or get a restraining order. Detectives stayed in contact with the woman for months.
In May, the sheriff’s office said deputies spoke with the woman and urged her again to get a restraining order, which she did. On July 29, deputies got a report that Rohit dropped off random grocery store items at the woman’s front door, which violated the restraining order.
The sheriff’s office said it learned that on the day of the deadly shooting, Rohit parked his vehicle just before 3 p.m. at the Panera parking lot, which is where the woman would ultimately be dropped off.
Rohit approached the woman and started accosting her, the sheriff’s office said. As the woman tried to run away, Rohit chased her down, pulled out a gun and shot her multiple times. After she fell to the ground, Rohit shot her in the head at close range.
The sheriff’s office said witnesses shared an image of the vehicle’s license plate, which helped law enforcement quickly locate the shooting suspect.
After entering the vehicle into the Flock system of license plate readers, deputies learned of its last location within seven minutes, Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said.
Deputies with SacRT located the vehicle near Highway 50 and Watt Avenue minutes later, Gandhi said.
As they attempted to stop the vehicle, Rohit stopped his car on the freeway and refused to get out of the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office. The man then died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
LiveCopter 3 footage captured the standoff
LiveCopter 3’s aerial footage after 3:20 p.m. showed law enforcement personnel surrounding the vehicle with their guns drawn. Surveillance drones could be seen hovering close to the car to assist law enforcement.
Later, law enforcement personnel could be seen banging out the vehicle’s windows and then removing the man from the vehicle. He was unresponsive.
LIVE | Highway 50 is closed for police activity in SacramentoWatch on
See a minute-by-minute recap of the standoff here.
This was the second time Highway 50 was shut down on Tuesday.
Early Tuesday morning, officers from three separate law enforcement agencies shot at a driver after a pursuit that ended along Highway 50 near Hazel Avenue. The confrontation left the driver dead.
Learn more about that shooting here.
A third person died on Highway 50 later Tuesday night.
A pedestrian died after being struck by a vehicle on westbound Highway 50 in Sacramento on Tuesday night, officials said.
Dispatchers around 9:55 p.m. got a report of a pedestrian lying on the W/X portion of the highway east of Interstate 5, the California Highway Patrol said. Officers who responded found a man dead at the scene.
Learn more about that death investigation here.
This story is developing. Stay with KCRA 3 for updates.
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