Phoenix police fatally shoot armed man in early morning confrontation
Dec 3, 2020, 6:18 AM | Updated: Dec 4, 2020, 2:52 pm
(Twitter Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
(Twitter Photo/Phoenix Police Department)
PHOENIX – Police in Phoenix said officers fatally shot an armed man at an apartment complex early Thursday.
Police said they had responded to calls of shots fired at 19th and Dunlap avenues and arrived around 4 a.m.
They found a man’s body bearing gunshot wounds and were then were tipped off to head to a particular apartment.
When they went inside, a man fired a weapon, hitting police dog Dennis.
The suspect, still armed, followed the officers out of the apartment, shooting at them, Sgt. Ann Justus told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
“The officers returned fire,” Justus said.
The man, identified later as 42-year-old Maurice Jackson, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The homicide victim was identified as 30-year-old Demeatris Roberson.
Jackson and Roberson knew each other and were engaged in an ongoing dispute, police said. Jackson is a “strong person of interest” in Roberson’s death, but the investigation is ongoing, police said.
The K-9 is expected to recover and return to duty. The 6-year-old dog has been with the department for over four years.
It was the 23rd Phoenix officer-involved shooting of the year, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM research, and the second of the week by the department.
No other details were immediately available.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Tasler-Oatley contributed to this report.
