Delaware police exchange gunfire with woman in police chase through 2 states that ends in her death

A police pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said.

Wilmington police said they began their pursuit of Yazmyn Stewart, 23, shortly before noon Tuesday at a Delaware residence, seeking to arrest her on a warrant stemming from a December 2023 shooting. She fled the home in a vehicle and rammed multiple police vehicles before driving along I-95 northbound into Pennsylvania, as Wilmington officers and Delaware state police troopers followed her.

Shortly after entering Pennsylvania, Stewart crashed her vehicle and started firing at the officers, and two troopers returned fire, authorities said. It's not known if Stewart was struck by any shots at that time, authorities said.

Stewart then carjacked another vehicle and drove to Chester, where she crashed into a structure. She then entered a home where she was confronted by a mother with her baby before she took another car and tried to flee again, authorities said.

However, several officers — including three from Wilmington, five Delaware state troopers and individual officers from Trainer and Chester in Pennsylvania — started shooting at the vehicle, and Stewart soon succumbed to her injuries at the scene.

One Wilmington officer was treated at a hospital for an undisclosed minor injury. No other injuries were reported in the chase or related incidents.

The Wilmington officers who fired their weapons have been placed on administrative duty pending an investigation, which is standard policy in police-related shootings. Authorities have not released the names of the law enforcement officers involved in the pursuit or the shootings.

In an image taken from video shows aerial footage of police on a scene of an interstate pursuit, Wednesday, May 15 ,2024, in Chester, Pa. A pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)

In an image taken from video shows police placing evidence markers on the scene of an interstate pursuit, Wednesday, May 15 ,2024, in Chester, Pa. A pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)

In an image taken from video shows aerial footage of police on a scene of an interstate pursuit, Wednesday, May 15 ,2024, in Chester, Pa. A pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)

In an image taken from video shows aerial footage of a crashed vehicle that was part of a police pursuit, Wednesday, May 15 ,2024, in Chester, Pa. A pursuit through two states that involved two separate shootouts with law enforcement officers and several crashes ended with the death of the woman being sought, authorities said. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP)

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — Trick-or-treaters in the Northeast who in past years would bundle up under their Bluey or Beetlejuice costumes comfortably roamed neighborhoods in unseasonably mild temperatures Thursday.

New York City hit 81 degrees (27.2 Celsius) on Halloween, with Boston topping out at 78 degrees (25.5 C). Caribou, Maine, hit a high of 75 degrees (23.8 C), well above the Halloween average of 47 degrees (8 C).

Buffalo, New York, saw a record-breaking 78 degrees — a year after light snow fell on Halloween.

In Schenectady, parents walked kids dressed as ninjas, superheroes and princesses down residential streets before the sun went down. The temperature was in the 70s, and people were loving it.

“It’s not a typical Halloween by any means,” Tom Kaczmarek said as he accompanied his 4-year-old daughter, who was dressed as a ghost. “But it’s nice not to have to cover our daughter in a coat, so she can wear her costume fully and proudly.”

Twelve-year-old Emma Abraham said she was a little hot in her Joker costume, but she was going to pull through.

“These temperatures are running on average about 20 degrees warmer than normal,” said Samantha Borisoff, a climatologist at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. She noted that weather can vary widely in October, a transitional month between seasons.

“So every Halloween can be very different,” she said.

This year was a far cry from 2011, when an early Nor’easter just before Halloween dumped heavy, wet snow around New York's Hudson Valley region. In 2012, the New York City area was reeling on Halloween after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the northeastern coastline Oct. 29, causing about $65 billion in damage.

Elsewhere, parts of eastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin were getting their first snow of the season Thursday. The National Weather Service said there was high uncertainty about accumulations because the ground is still warm. Snow melted when it hit the pavement in downtown Minneapolis.

But revelers in the Northeast were enjoying the treat while it lasted. Temperatures were expected to return to normal ranges starting Friday.

Nelson Rose wore a bewigged scary clown mask in the late-day Schenectady sun, but he said he was comfortable as he rolled a double stroller for his grandchildren.

“The end of October and we’re still getting this 70-degree weather,” he said. “I’m not complaining at all.”

Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed from Minneapolis.

A boy dressed in a firefighter costume arrives to watch a Halloween parade, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

A man carries a child dressed as a king upon arriving to watch a Halloween Parade, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Parents attend a Halloween parade compare costumes, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Children at Daniel Warren Elementary School walk in a Halloween parade, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Children at Daniel Warren Elementary School walk in a Halloween parade, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)