Teenagers dead after high-speed pursuit

Tyler — A violent sequence of events left four teenagers dead early Sunday, Sept. 27, after officers investigating a reported shooting pursued a vehicle that matched a caller’s description.

Early-morning call 

The incident began at 3:43 a.m. when Tyler Police officers responded to a "Suspicious Noise/Gunshots" call in the 1500 block of Lake Placid Road. A caller reported people shooting and described a 2009 Nissan coupe.

Around 4 a.m., police said a local hospital was treating two people with gunshot wounds believed to be connected to the reported shooting. Police later said the two shooting victims had non-life-threatening injuries. The victims were identified only as a 17-year-old boy from Tyler and an 18-year-old woman from Smith County.

Pursuit ends in fatal crash 

While investigating the incident, officers observed a 2009 Nissan coupe matching the description provided by the caller and attempted to make contact. The vehicle drove away, initiating a police pursuit through the city that continued onto Highway 31 East at a high rate of speed.

DPS Troopers joined the pursuit as it exited the city. A DPS trooper used a precision immobilization technique, commonly called a PIT maneuver, to stop the fleeing vehicle, police said.

The crash was reported about 5:36 a.m. near Highway 31 East and County Road 211, east of Tyler.

Tyler Police identified three of the teenagers killed as Jaffet Cuarenta, Adrielle Vazquez and Emigdio Gutierrez, all 17 and from Tyler. Police did not publicly name the fourth victim, a 15-year-old from Smith County. 

All cases remain open and active as investigators work to reconstruct the events on Lake Placid Road and the pursuit that followed.

Tyler Police, DPS, and the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting, pursuit, and fatal crash. 

This article was created with artificial intelligence and edited by staff.