Suspect who sparked police shooting in Mesa identified, stole vehicle in Tempe

PHOENIX — A suspect was taken into custody and identified in Mesa after police officers fired shots Friday morning, authorities said.

Pedro Garcia is accused of stealing a vehicle in Tempe before he was tracked to a home in the area of Barkley Avenue, just south of Main Street.

Police said it was near that location where the man pointed a knife at police, prompting three gun shots from officers at the scene.

The vehicle was unoccupied when it was located around 8:30 a.m., and two officers called for backup in order to set up a perimeter around the area, Detective Brandi Myers of the Mesa Police Department told KTAR News 92.3 FM about four hours later.

“Around that time, a 25-year-old man came out of the house and approached a stolen vehicle,” Myers said. “This is where the officer-involved shooting occurred.”

Two officers fired handguns Myers said. Other responding officers used a bean bag gun and taser on the suspect and took him into custody.

What happened after Mesa suspect was taken into custody?

The man was taken to a hospital for minor injuries and has since been released and cleared to be booked into jail on felony charges, Myers said.

Police were still at the scene Friday afternoon working to clear the house.

“We’re waiting for search warrants to get authorized to allow our SWAT units to go in and make sure nobody else is inside, nobody else is hurt, and that it is safe to proceed with the investigation,” Myers said.

Myers confirmed a knife was found at the scene.

“We are looking at that angle and whether that knife was part of why the officer-involved shooting occurred, but … we won’t know until we speak to all parties involved and look at the body-worn camera,” she said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Balin Overstolz-McNair contributed to this report.

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