4-year-old boy killed in 'unimaginable' road rage shooting in California, police say

A 4-year-old California boy was fatally shot after a man opened fire into a family's vehicle during a road rage incident on Friday.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. on Friday on the Sierra Highway in Lancaster, California.

"It's unimaginable that this could have been any of our families. It could have been any of us," Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris told local outlet KABC.

The sheriff's office said a 29-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman have been arrested in connection to the fatal shooting, adding that there are no additional suspects.

Children harmed: A record number of America's kids were injured or killed by gunfire in 2022

According to the news release, a mother and father were driving on the highway when the suspects cut them off and began following them through several surface streets.

"While being pursued by the suspects, the victim driver slowed his vehicle, at which time the suspect driver pulled up along the passenger side of the victim's car and began shooting," LASD said.

The 4-year-old, who was sitting in the back seat, was hit by the bullet in the torso. His parents immediately rushed him to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officials said no one else was injured.

The identities of the victim, his family, nor the suspects was released.

Parris told KABC the suspects were quickly tracked by the city's recently installed flock camera safety net. The system employs an "automated license plate recognition technology," the city says, which provides alerts when a stolen or wanted vehicle enters a city's limits.

"We know where they've been, we know where they're going, so when a crime is committed, we can go back in time and find out where they are," Parris told KABC.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California road rage shooting: 4-year-old boy dies in Lancaster