Glendale police fatally shoot carjacking suspect in Phoenix

PHOENIX — A Glendale police detective fatally shot a carjacking suspect outside a Phoenix convenience store Friday morning, authorities said.

The shooting occurred around 10:40 a.m. at the QuikTrip on Camelback Road near Interstate 17, Glendale Police spokeswoman Tiffany Ngalula said during a press conference.

Ngalula said two plainclothes detectives were investigating a recent armed carjacking in Glendale and saw the 39-year-old male suspect drive the stolen vehicle into the parking lot and go inside.

They moved to arrest him when he came out of the store.

“At that point the suspect knocked one of the police detectives to the ground and stood over him, reaching behind his back toward his waistband area when a second detective felt that his partner’s life was in danger and [he] needed to use deadly force, at which time he did open fire and struck the suspect,” Ngalula said.

Ngalula said a handgun was located near the man.

The suspect was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Ngalula said because the detectives were not in uniform, they weren’t equipped with body-worn cameras.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety is conducting the investigation.

It was the first shooting of the year involving Glendale police, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM research.

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