Authorities say the woman they were looking for died after being chased by police through two states and being involved in two separate shootouts with police officers as well as several crashes.
Wilmington police said they started chasing Yazmyn Stewart, 23, just before noon on Tuesday at a home in Delaware. They wanted to arrest her on a warrant related to a shooting in December 2023. She drove away from the house in a car and hit several police cars on the way to I-95 northbound into Pennsylvania. Officers from Wilmington and the Delaware State Police were following her.
Soon after entering Pennsylvania, Stewart crashed her car and began shooting at the police, which was met by two troopers who returned fire, according to the officials. The police say they don’t know if any shots hit Stewart at that time.
After that, Stewart stole another car and went to Chester, where she hit a building. Authorities say she then went into a house and was met by a mother with her baby. She then got into another car and tried to escape again.
However, several police officers, including three from Wilmington, five Delaware state cops, and one officer each from Trainer and Chester in Pennsylvania, began shooting at the car. Stewart soon died at the scene from her injuries.
One Wilmington police officer was taken to the hospital for treatment of an unknown minor injury. No one else was hurt in the chase or other events that happened nearby.
As is usual practice after police shootings, the Wilmington officers who fired their weapons have been put on administrative duty until the investigation is over. The police cops who were involved in the chase and shootings have not been named by the authorities.
