Mesa officers shoot at stolen car occupied by 2 teens

Mesa officers shot at a stolen vehicle occupied by two teenagers after it rammed a police vehicle on Thursday, authorities said.

BY BRANDON KING

Jun 12, 2025, 6:42 PM Updated: Jun 13, 2025, 12:14 pm

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PHOENIX — Mesa officers shot at a stolen vehicle occupied by two teenagers after it rammed a police vehicle on Thursday, authorities said.

The Mesa Police Department’s real-time crime center identified a stolen vehicle in the area of Power Road and Main Street around 4:45 p.m. The vehicle had been stolen in Mesa on June 5.

Mesa officers followed the vehicle south, where it turned onto Broadway Road, and then into a cul-de-sac on 72nd Place, police said.

“An officer deployed the Grappler in an attempt to stop the vehicle, but it was not successful,” Brandi Myers, a Mesa police spokesperson, said during a press conference.

The Grappler is a device mounted on the front of a police vehicle used to grab a fleeing vehicle’s wheels from behind.

Myers says the grappler slipped off the wheels before the vehicle sped into the front yards of the cul-de-sac.

What prompted Mesa officers to shoot at stolen vehicle

The vehicle then made a U-turn attempting to flee, only to slam into one of the police cars.

“This is when the officer-involved shooting occurred. The suspects have been identified as two 17-year-old juveniles,” Myers said.

The driver of the stolen vehicle was taken to the hospital with a hand injury that was described as significant but not life-threatening. It isn’t clear what caused the injury.

No other injuries were reported.

“There will be criminal charges for both of these 17-year-olds. Right now, we are working on what those charges may be,” Myers said.

Tempe Police are investigating the shooting by Mesa officers as part of the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team.