Apache Junction Police Department identifies police officer injured by gunfire

PHOENIX – The officer injured in a shooting on Monday was the heartbeat of the Apache Junction Police Department, authorities said.

Officer Gabriel Facio, a three-year veteran of the department, was injured by 36-year-old Roger Nunez in a shooting, according to Chief of Police Michael Pooley.

“Everyone loves Officer Facio,” Pooley said during a Tuesday news conference. “He’s just a wonderful human being. … It is very, very difficult for our officers right now.”

Facio is a husband and father of two children.

What led up to Apache Junction police shooting that left officer injured?

The shooting took place after police received a call reporting Nunez was driving a white Tesla and brandishing a firearm near Ironwood Drive and Ray Avenue around 9:30 a.m.

Although police officers contacted him, Nunez allegedly walked out of his vehicle with the firearm, prompting police to follow him on foot and urge him to comply.

When he didn’t listen, they tried to make him comply by using nonlethal tools like pepper-spray projectiles, Pooley said.

“He, out of a quick move, pulled that firearm up and – it was one in a million shots – fired four rounds, striking Officer Gabriel Facio in the face,” Pooley said. “He went down immediately.”

The four other police officers with Facio returned fire, striking Nunez. They are currently on paid administrative leave per department policy as the Mesa Police Department investigates the case.

The officers loaded Facio into a patrol vehicle and drove him to the Banner Health Clinic in Apache Junction, which was around a mile and a half from the scene of the shooting.

Details about suspect who injured officer in Apache Junction police shooting

Nunez, an Apache Junction resident, had a few aggravated assault charges in his criminal history, according to Pooley.

He allegedly used a ghost gun in the shooting.

“A ghost gun is a gun that is unmarked. It has no serial numbers,” Pooley said. “He was not a prohibited possessor. … We do know that he was not in his right state of mind yesterday.”

Nunez will face several counts of aggravated assault.

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