Employee at Bakersfield Diner Slain

BAKERSFIELD — A Taco Bell employee was fatally shot in the head Monday by a gunman who fled to the fast-food restaurant while being chased by law enforcement officers.

Ernest Joseph Trujillo Jr., 34, was booked on suspicion of murder and held in jail after firing two shots from a sawed-off shotgun, sending lunchtime customers scattering for safety and killing one female worker, police said.

The identity of the slain employee was not immediately released, but witnesses and family members said she was related to the shooter by marriage, police Sgt. Bob Bivens said.

The fatal shooting happened about 15 minutes after a motorist called police and said he had been injured by a shotgun blast that shattered a rear window in his car. Glass and debris from the gunshot grazed the forehead of Peter Bernal, 21, causing minor injuries, Bivens said.

Kern County sheriff’s deputies spotted a car matching the description Bernal gave, but could not stop it. The car led deputies to the Taco Bell parking lot, where Trujillo allegedly bolted into the restaurant and fired two shots.

The victim was found lying in the back of the restaurant and Trujillo was found hiding near a bathroom, Bivens said.

Police were trying to determine a motive.

“Family members are indicating that there were no problems with this guy as far as getting along with other family members,” Bivens said.