1 dead, 4 injured, including 2 officers, in Saturday shooting incident
Nov 3, 2019, 11:07 AM | Updated: Nov 10, 2019, 1:37 pm
PHOENIX — One person is dead and four people, including two police officers, were injured during a shooting at a southeast Phoenix home Saturday evening, authorities said.
Officers responded to a call about a family fight and an armed suspect near Broadway Road and 28th Street just before 8 p.m., according to the Phoenix Police Department
The family told them everything was OK, but another call came in for the same residence around 11:30 p.m.
A 32-year-old man was threatening to shoot his family members and would not allow them to leave, police said.
When officers arrived at the residence, they heard shots being fired. They approached the house, concerned for the family members’ safety, but were met with gunfire in their direction and retreated, police said.
Officers made repeated requests to release the family during a six-hour standoff, police said. When they felt the man’s threats toward the family were escalating, they approached the home and exchanged gunfire with the suspect.
The suspect, identified Monday as Michael Austin, was shot and pronounced dead at the scene.
A 36-year-old officer, Chad Estle, suffered a gunshot wound and was hospitalized in stable condition. Another officer, 34-year-old Kristopher Bertz, suffered a bite from a police dog during the incident and also was in stable condition.
Two women inside the home were hit with fragments from an officer’s bullet and are in stable condition. The third person in the home, a man, was uninjured.
“Both officers are expected to make a full recovery and we’re very thankful for this,” Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said during a press conference Sunday. “This is one more example of how the Phoenix Police Department and other enforcement agencies have dangerous situations where they’re running into danger in order to make our community safe.
“I am so, so thankful that our officers are going to be fine but I’m also thankful that our community is safe.”
It was the Valley’s 30th shooting involving law enforcement in 2019, the 13th involving the Phoenix Police Department, according to statistics compiled by KTAR News 92.3 FM.
With two months left in the year, the Phoenix Police number is far below the department-record 44 officer-involved shootings from 2018.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Amy Phol contributed to this report.
