Carjacking suspect fatally shot by Sacramento deputies on I-5 in Natomas after chase
Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot an armed man suspected of carjacking at the end of a tense pursuit early Tuesday on Interstate 5 in North Natomas.
The ordeal began with the carjacking about 2:30 a.m. in Citrus Heights, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Ed Igoe told reporters. Igoe said the man held up the car’s driver near Madison Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard and took the vehicle.
Citrus Heights police issued an alert and Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies soon spotted the car at Madison and Eastern avenues in Arden Arcade. Deputies were led on a chase that stretched into northern Sacramento County, onto Sacramento International Airport property, and briefly off-road.
Igoe said the suspected carjacker pointed his gun “numerous times” at pursuing deputies during that portion of the chase before the pursuit moved onto Interstate 5.
Officials said the shooting happened just after 3:30 a.m. on southbound Interstate 5 at the Arena Boulevard offramp in the Sundance Lake neighborhood. Igoe said the carjacking suspect left the car and again pointed his gun at deputies, who opened fire. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Four deputies fired their weapons; none were hurt. All are on paid administrative leave, Igoe said, as the investigation takes place.
Detectives are now investigating the incident, the Sheriff’s Office said. The investigation and heavy law enforcement presence shut down southbound Interstate 5 in the area, forcing motorists to seek alternate routes.
The officer-involved shooting early Tuesday was the eighth in the capital region and the third involving the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office in 2026, according to Bee reporting.
Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies were involved in two February shootings: one on Feb. 16 during a vehicle stop in the Vineyard neighborhood that left an armed man hospitalized, and another on Feb. 27 that killed a man who grabbed a shotgun near Galt while a deputy responded to a woman in distress.
California Highway Patrol officers shot and killed a man March 27 during a traffic stop near El Camino Avenue and Boxwood Street in Old North Sacramento. Sacramento police recovered a handgun from the scene.
Sacramento police fatally shot 56-year-old Andrew Anthony Baima on Exposition Boulevard near Cal Expo Jan. 29 after Baima robbed a BMO bank branch and pointed what turned out to be an imitation firearm at officers during a foot pursuit.
As with previous shooting incidents, the Sheriff’s Office’s homicide bureau and professional standards division will internally investigate the officer-involved shooting, in line with department policy. The incident will be reviewed by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office and the county’s inspector general.
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 8:15 AM.
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