Woman dead, sheriff’s deputy hospitalized after Queen Creek shooting

PHOENIX — A woman died and a deputy with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) was hospitalized after a Thursday night shooting in Queen Creek, authorities said.

The shooting began after a sergeant tried to stop a vehicle that failed to yield passing Gantzel Road and Pecan Creek Drive around 7:50 p.m., PCSO said.

Sheriff’s deputies then pursued the vehicle for six minutes down the road to North Gantzel and East Combs roads, where the vehicle in question crashed into a ditch.

The driver, now identified as 46-year-old Melissa Mills of Apache Junction, got out of the vehicle after the crash, looked at the sergeant and two other deputies, then reached back into the car, grabbed a gun and opened fire at the deputies, PCSO said.

Deputies returned fire, striking Mills, who was later pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the deputies involved in the Queen Creek shooting was injured by the exchange of gunfire after a bullet allegedly fired by Mills went through a window on his patrol vehicle, PCSO said.

That deputy was hit in the eye by glass from the window. He was taken to a Valley hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released, PCSO said.

Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple said Mills had a history of fleeing from law enforcement and had been arrested for that, driving on a suspended license, drug possession and drug paraphernalia possession in May 2024.

When detectives conducted a search warrant on the vehicle, they reportedly located a single methamphetamine pipe on the driver’s side floorboard.

A man who was a passenger in Mills’ car was arrested on a criminal traffic violation warrant that had been issued by the Arizona Department of Transportation.

PCSO said he will not charged in connection with the incident as this time.

Why did Pinal County deputies chase woman before deadly Queen Creek shooting?

Teeple gave a simple answer when asked by reporters why the sergeant and deputies chased Mills after she fled from the traffic stop.

“This is Arizona and this is Pinal County and if you commit a criminal offense here, we’re going to take action,” Teeple said.

He also said that his deputies have performed about 100 traffic stops since Thursday that have been uneventful.

No other details have been released and the investigation into this case remains open.

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