LOS ANGELES — A 6-year-old boy was fatally wounded Friday when a gunman opened fire on the 55 Freeway in Orange during a road rage incident, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The suspect fled immediately after the shooting near West Chapman Avenue as police officers and paramedics responded to the gunfire shortly after 8 a.m., authorities said.
The boy’s mother was traveling on the northbound freeway with her child in the booster seat when the shooting occurred, CHP officials said. Witnesses reported hearing a gun shot from a white sedan right before the child’s mother pulled her vehicle over to the shoulder.
“This was an isolated road rage incident,” said CHP Officer Florentino Olivera. He said the driver of the white sedan shot into the back of the mother’s Chevy Cruze sedan and then fled.
The suspect was last seen heading north on the 55 Freeway, which was closed at the scene.
Paramedics rushed the injured child to nearby Children’s Hospital, authorities said. Authorities later confirmed that the boy, whose name was not released, had died.
CHP officials said the shooting was not related to dozens of recent BB or pellet gun shootings in the region on freeways.
