Details emerged throughout the day Friday of an incident that led to five Phoenix police officers being shot, four injured by bullet shrapnel, one suspect dead, and a woman injured.
The deadly incident unfolded just after 2 a.m. on Friday morning, when police responded to a shooting at a Phoenix home, according to Phoenix Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Andy Williams.
Williams chronicled the details of the event as best as he could, but said that the department was still working to obtain the full story of the incident, and that details were subject to change.
He said that the first officer who responded to the shooting was welcomed into the home by the eventual gunman, who then “ambushed” the officer, shooting him several times.
A second person then emerged from the home and placed an infant on the front steps before a shootout between police and the suspect occurred. Four more officers were shot, and four others wounded by bullet shrapnel, rendering the incident the single most violent in terms of officers wounded in Phoenix Police Department history, as far as Williams could recall.
One officer was critically wounded and transported to the hospital. The other four who were shot had non life-threatening injuries, but were also taken to the hospital. The four officers wounded by shrapnel stayed at the scene until it was secured.
The injured police officers have not yet been identified. At the time of this writing, they are all expected to survive.
Inside the home, police found a woman who they described as “extremely critically injured.” There was no word on her condition at the time of this writing.
The shooter, who had barricaded himself inside the home, was later found dead. The exact circumstances of his death – whether he was killed when police returned fire or took his own life – remains unknown. He will not be identified until his next of kin are notified, per department policy, according to Williams.
The infant was rescued safely.
Police believe that the man was an ex-boyfriend of the critically wounded woman, and that the child was theirs.
They are working on determining a motive for the dispute that led to the police being called to the scene, and the motive for the shootout with police.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at the Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Phoenix Police Department Squad Car” by Tony Webster CC BY 2.0.
