Two arrested in deadly road rage shooting of boy on California freeway

LOS ANGELES — Two people were arrested in the fatal shooting of a six-year-old boy after a road rage incident on a Southern California freeway, the California Highway Patrol announced Sunday.

The suspects, identified as Eriz Marcus Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested at their home in Costa Mesa, California, the CHP said in a news release. Details about what led to the arrests were not disclosed, but they came after a reward for information climbed to $500,000.

The two were expected to be charged with murder, the CHP said.

An “indescribable outpouring of concern and hundreds of tips” helped investigators find the suspects, said CHP Border Division Chief Omar Watson.

Investigators had been searching for a white Volkswagen after the May 21 shooting on the 55 Freeway in Orange County.

The boy, Aiden Leos, was on his way to kindergarten when authorities said a person in another vehicle opened fire on the car his mother, Joanna Cloonan, was driving.

Aiden, who was sitting in a booster seat, told his mother that his “tummy” hurt after being struck by a bullet.

The CHP said there had been “some type of road-rage incident” involving Cloonan and another motorist prior to the shooting.

An initial reward of $50,000 that was seeking information leading to a conviction had risen to half-a-million dollars by last week.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer described the shooting as a “road rage incident” and said the killing “has left our entire community devastated.”

“6-year-old Aiden should have been in kindergarten today, but instead his family is getting ready for his funeral tomorrow,” Spitzer said last week.

Andrew Blankstein reported from Los Angeles and Tim Stelloh from Northern California.

source: nbcnews.com