Man fatally shot by Scottsdale police after he opened fire on them during traffic stop

PHOENIX — A man was fatally shot by Scottsdale police officers after he opened fire on them during a traffic stop in rush hour on Thursday, authorities said.

Officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle out of Phoenix just after 5:30 p.m. near Scottsdale and Cactus roads, Scottsdale Police Department Chief Jeff Walther said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Immediately after police attempted to conduct a traffic stop, the suspect, 52-year-old Laquanza Young, exited his vehicle and fired multiple rounds from his firearm, Walther said.

Two officers returned fire, fatally shooting Young.

Gunfire struck the officers’ patrol vehicles, and police are investigating a report of a bullet strike to a citizen’s vehicle.

“Too many out there look at life as a game of Grand Theft Auto. Stolen vehicle, police are behind you, ‘now I’m going to start engaging with the police with gunfire on a city street at rush hour,'” Walther said.

“These are human beings. It’s easy to look at police officers and say, ‘Well, yeah, they’re just doing their job. They’re just police officers.’ No, these are flesh and blood human beings that have families and children. This isn’t a game,” Walther said.

Thursday’s incident was the fourth time in the last 14 months that Scottsdale officers returned fire after getting shot at, Walther said.

No officers were injured during the incident.

Second shooting incident involving law enforcement in the Valley

The shooting was the second incident involving law enforcement in the Valley on Thursday.

A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputy helping execute a high-risk search warrant fatally shot a suspect armed with a rifle during a confrontation in east Mesa around 3 a.m.

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