Advertisement 19-year-old Stockton man ID'd in bank robbery, deadly shootout Police Chief Jones: 'It was such a chaotic, fluid situation' Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A 19-year-old suspect was identified Thursday morning by police as one of the three armed men who led police on a high-speed chase through at least three cities Wednesday, firing shots into cars and houses along the way, and throwing hostages from a speeding SUV after a bank robbery that led to the deaths of one hostage and two of the robbers, officers said.Photos: SUV riddled with bullet holes after pursuitSurviving bank robbery suspect Jaime Ramos, of Stockton, was arrested and booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on homicide, kidnapping, robbery, and attempted murder charges, police said. Police said that the deceased suspects, also Stockton residents, were 30- and 27-year-old men. "During my 18 years as a law enforcement officer, this is the first time that I've seen this here in the city of Stockton," said Joe Silva, a spokesman for the Stockton Police Department, earlier Wednesday evening. "So right now, we're interviewing the bank employees, and we're going to debrief the hostages once they're OK. We can talk to them to see exactly what transpired inside the bank."Watch report: 3 dead in Stockton bank robbery, gun battleThursday morning, police presence was still heavy as investigators processed evidence along Thornton Road, the site where the getaway car finally stopped in the deadly rampage. Crime scene investigators working near Thornton Road found at least three handguns and an assault rifle, a photo of which was released by police.The violence began around 2 p.m. when officers responded to a call reporting a robbery at a Bank of the West branch in north Stockton.Arriving officers spotted three men walking three female hostages from the bank, in the 7800 block of Thornton Road, at gunpoint.Watch full Stockton PD news conference following shootoutThe robbers then stole a bank employee's SUV and began a pursuit, Silva said.During the chase that lasted at least an hour and spanned several miles -- the pursuit even reached Lodi and Acampo -- one of the hostages was thrown from the SUV and taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound, Silva said.The high-speed chase continued as gunfire continued to erupt from the SUV, he said.Police cars and an unknown number of homes and uninvolved vehicles along the robbers' path were peppered with gunshots. The pursuit went from Highway 99 to Interstate 5 to Highway 12 and then continued along surface streets.At least 14 patrol vehicles were hit by bullets."The firing never really stopped," police said.Officers were fired upon "constantly" by the suspects, who had "massive" amounts of ammunition with them, Silva added.No investigators were hurt.A second hostage was later thrown from the vehicle, and officers tending to her found she had suffered a grazing bullet wound, Silva said.When police finally disabled the SUV's tires at Otto and Estate drives in the northeast part of the city, officers exchanged a barrage of gunfire with someone inside the vehicle."They were trying to kill (the officers), no doubt," Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones said in a late-night news conference.When the shootout had ended, the third hostage was found dead in the SUV and one of the robbers was also dead. The police chief said the hostage was a bank customer, and that she appears to have been used by the suspects as a shield during the shootout. The other two hostages are Bank of the West employees.The surviving bank robber, Ramos, was conscious when he was taken into police custody, Jones said. The second suspect was confirmed dead Wednesday evening. All the suspects had ammunition taped to their bodies.Witnesses said the exchange of gunfire between officers and the suspects sounded like war."It sounded like five minutes of straight gunfire," witness Sam York said. "It seemed like it wasn't real."A man in Lodi said he saw the shootout from his property near Highway 99 and took cover under his lawnmower. He said he heard 40 to 50 shots fired.Jose Maldonado, who said he saw the robbers taking the women out of the bank, said the men had AK-47-like rifles slung over their shoulders -- and they didn't seem to care that there were police all around."They were not afraid," Maldonado said. "They weren't going to take no for an answer. These poor women, they were screaming, they were so distraught, so scared."The suspects had planned to ambush officers, police told KCRA 3.Jones said the robbers also tied up a bank security guard earlier in the day. The guard was able to dial 911 before he was bound.Jones provided a chronology as he addressed the media from police headquarters."It was such a chaotic ... fluid situation, really one of the most dangerous, tense situations that a police officer could go through," Jones said. "There was a lot on the line and the officers responded appropriately."Bank of the West has said in a statement that it would not provide information about the victims."This is a tragic incident and we are focused on supporting our customers and employees," the statement reads.Police were concerned throughout the chase Wednesday that the suspects would take more hostages or enter other businesses, Jones said. Fortunately, that didn't happen.The FBI and the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office are assisting in the investigation. Officials are also looking into whether these suspects have ties to other bank robberies in the area.There's no word on how the surviving hostages are doing or what their official conditions are listed as at the hospital, but their bullet woulds were considered minor.