Authorities eliminate 1 incident from I-10 shootings list

PHOENIX — Arizona authorities investigating shootings along Interstate 10 have eliminated one recent incident but may have another as they sift through a mound of information.

A woman reported Friday morning that as she was driving on Interstate 17 near Thomas Road that she heard a gunshot and believed her car had been hit. Law enforcement was going over the vehicle, a red compact.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said a car that had been possibly hit by a projectile early Thursday morning was not related to the 11 confirmed shootings.

That was the first call in a day in which the highway patrol responded to five episodes of struck vehicles.

The first driver reported that a window had cracked while he was on I-10 near the 83rd Avenue exit early in the commuter rush.

Drivers of two other vehicles reported being hit by something while they were on I-10 — a semi-truck that was hit near 83rd Avenue and another semi that was hit near 67th Avenue.

Other reports being investigated included a sedan on State Route 51 near Shea Boulevard that was hit by something that splintered a side window and calls about possible struck vehicles on Loop 202 in the East Valley.

The shootings began Aug. 29 when an SUV was hit by a bullet as it neared 19th Avenue. Seven vehicles have been struck with bullets and four with projectiles, which would include pellets.

Nearly all the attacks have occurred on I-10. A truck traveling on Interstate 17 near Dunlap Avenue was hit by a bullet the evening of Sept. 6. Later that day, a car heading west on Loop 202 near 24th Street was hit by a bullet.

A $20,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest of the suspected serial shooter.

DPS can be contacted at 602-644-5805.

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