Suspect captured after allegedly opening fire at an Arizona business, killing one person, then fleeing into the desert.
Suspect captured after allegedly opening fire at an Arizona business, killing one person, then fleeing into the desert.
SELMA, Ariz. (AP) — A man suspected of killing an elderly couple and wounding several others in a suburban Phoenix business parking lot while they were in their own cars is in custody after a dramatic gun battle that ended in a desert escape.
Deputies say the suspect shot through the door of the home after the victims pulled up in their own cars in a parking lot in the community of Sierra Vista around noon Wednesday.
Officials say the suspect approached Mr. and Mrs. James Smith’s cars with a semiautomatic rifle and fired three shots before fleeing into the desert.
The sheriff’s office says the suspect and his father also were at the home and shot each other several times before they all ran off together. Officials said they believe the man was the only one with a gun.
Police believe the two men involved have been in the area for several weeks.
Police say about a dozen officers surrounded the Smith home as they began evacuating the building. The house is near a country club. Police took up positions behind the house, and SWAT officers joined them.
The suspect then abandoned his car and walked back toward the Smith home carrying a black bag he put over his shoulder. Police say he was wearing a black ski mask, gloves and dark-colored pants.
The house was completely riddled with bullet holes, but no one was injured.
Police say he appeared to have escaped through a window into the house after shooting through the door and into the living room. They say he took his father’s handgun, then left the house.
Police say the suspect’s father was wounded but not seriously. No other injuries were reported.
He was later captured by a SWAT team in a