Man kills two children, one woman at Phoenix apartment on Christmas
Dec 26, 2017, 8:14 AM | Updated: 4:54 pm
PHOENIX — A man allegedly shot and killed a woman and two children at an apartment complex in central Phoenix on Christmas Day.
According to Sgt. Jonathan Howard with the Phoenix Police Department, officers were called to the scene near 16th Street and Highland Avenue on Monday to a report of a shooting and found 38-year-old Iris Ross dead outside.
Officers then attempted to talk to the man, later identified as 45-year-old Anthony Milan Ross, after he barricaded himself inside of his apartment. The man then told the officers that he killed the two children.
Ross remained inside the apartment for hours.
He later began shooting at officers, injuring one. The officer was injured by shrapnel and was taken to the hospital in stable condition, Howard said.
Ross was later taken into custody. He did not appear to be injured.
Howard said officers then found the bodies of 10-month-old Anora Ross and 11-year-old Nigel Ross inside the apartment.
Tactical units escorted residents from the area, some clustered outside a convenience store for hours until the standoff ended. Others returning home weren’t allowed in.
“It’s kind of crazy, just because it’s supposed to be a holiday for your family and getting together,” Sierra Scott, whose mother lives at the apartment complex, told Phoenix news station KSAZ-TV.
Howard said Ross was visiting Phoenix for the holidays. Ross was the estranged spouse of the victim and the two children involved were the couple’s kids.
According to court documents, the woman was shot and killed when she attempted to run away from Ross. He was then observed going through the woman’s pockets. Ross later told police he did this in order to find her car keys so he could move her vehicle since it was blocking his.
The man then ran inside his apartment. Witnesses told police they heard two to three gunshots fired shortly after Ross ran inside.
Ross was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, 19 counts of aggravated assault on an officer and one county of discharging a firearm within city limits.
He was denied bail and will remain in custody until his next court date on Jan. 3.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.