– Police say a five people, including a shooting suspect and small child, have died in a family shooting in Phoenix on Tuesday morning.
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First responders made a decision to build a brand-new response team on the fly, putting police officers in protective fire gear and giving them a crash course on entering a burning home.
Police finally cleared the scene Wednesday night, leaving behind an empty boarded-up house that was once a home.
Three police officers were transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation.
‘You have people that need you to come and rescue them, and you now have not only a fire, but somebody who’s also firing a gun in there, ‘ the police sergeant said.
“We have no idea what the motive is, or what sparked this”, said Crump, adding that neighbors heard an argument between the alleged suspect and his father about 30 minutes before the shootings.
The shooter had set the house ablaze, fire Capt. Reda Riddle-Bigler said. The first officers on scene went into the house because they felt lives were in immediate danger.
The mayor of Phoenix is praising the heroism of police officers and firefighters who responded to a house fire and shooting that left four people dead, including the gunman.
“It is, as you can imagine, a scene that is a mess, including the fire and the damage that has occurred inside”, he said.
– Authorities are investigating an officer-involved shooting near Interstate 10 and 75th Avenue.
Police said the parents were in an upstairs bedroom.
The incident began around 3 p.m., when officers located a stolen vehicle near 91st Avenue and McDowell Road in Phoenix, spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said. Media gathered outside reported hearing gunshots coming from the house as well.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton was at the scene.
“Whether he was in the process of shooting himself or had, we don’t know that at this point, and we’re not going to know that until there is an autopsy”, Crump said.
After the fire was extinguished, they found the other victims.
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Police got a search warrant for the home on Tuesday evening and expected to be on scene all night long.
