Phoenix police officer shoots suspect who was driving toward people

PHOENIX – A police officer shot and wounded an aggravated assault/domestic violence suspect who allegedly was driving toward a group of people outside a west Phoenix home early Christmas Day, authorities said.

Officers responded to the area of 51st Avenue and Osborn Road around 1:07 a.m. after getting a call about a driver trying to run somebody over, according to a Phoenix Police Department press release.

The suspect, eventually identified as Samuel Vasquez, 25, drove into a parked van and fled before the officers arrived, police said.

When the officers walked toward people standing in the front yard of the house, Vasquez drove back to the scene.

His vehicle went over the curb and toward the people when one officer shot at the driver, police said.

Vasquez then stopped and complied with commands to get out of his vehicle, police said.

The officers took him into custody and provided first aid until the Phoenix Fire Department arrived and took him to a hospital.

No details about his injuries were made available.

The officer who shot Vasquez works out of the Maryvale Precinct and has two years with the force, police said.

The investigation is ongoing.

It was the 24th shooting involving the Phoenix Police Department in 2020, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM research.

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