Ex-Sheriff's Deputy Shot Dead in Police Pursuit After Fatally Stabbing His Son, Police Say

A former Sacramento County Sheriff's deputy fired for drug use was killed at the end of a freeway police chase Tuesday after allegedly stabbing his 11-year-old son at home that morning.

According to the Elk Grove Police Department, a woman in Elk Grove, California -- located about 15 minutes south of Sacramento -- called 911 Tuesday morning to report seeing her son lying unresponsive on the ground ... she said she was at work and was viewing surveillance video at the house.

Responding officers found the boy with multiple stab wounds ... he was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Cops identified the stabbing suspect as the child's father, Marvin Morales, who was gone by the time officers arrived. Law enforcement agencies located Morales driving southbound on the Interstate 5 freeway ... Morales refused to pull over and led police on a pursuit.

The chase ended in Lodi, about 22 miles south of Elk Grove, when Morales crashed ... police said the pursuit "ended with an officer-involved shooting" ... unclear if Morales crashed before or after he was shot. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Morales had already been investigated in a separate incident ... in 2023, he was revived with Narcan after overdosing on fentanyl at a sheriff's station, and an internal affairs investigation determined he'd lied about his drug use, according to KCRA-TV. He was fired by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Tuesday morning, police also found the boy's 6-year-old sister at the house where the boy was stabbed ... she was evaluated at a hospital and released into the custody of her mother.