Phoenix Police shoot man suspected to have been part of armed robbery

PHOENIX — A police officer shot an armed man who was believed to have been part of a robbery on Friday night, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

Around 11:26 p.m., an officer patrolling 35th and Peoria avenues saw a driver point a gun out of a car and fire. It was not clear what direction the shot was fired in.

The officer alerted the Glendale Police Department, which responded that the vehicle was believed to have been used in an armed robbery near 59th Avenue and Cactus Road.

Police officers began pursuing the vehicle and the department used “tactical surveillance using the air unit,” Phoenix police said.

Around 11:53 p.m., the driver was forced to a stop using a grappler, which the Arizona Department of Public Safety said is a netting system deployed from the police car’s front bumper that locks onto the rear wheel of the vehicle that is being pursued.

The suspect, a 34-year-old man, raised a gun toward an officer as police issued commands. The officer shot at him.

The man was transported from the area of 5600 West Happy Valley Road to a nearby hospital in critical condition. 

There were no other injuries.

Police recovered a shotgun from the vehicle.

The officer who fired the shot is a 36-year-old man with 13 years of police service.

It was the seventh shooting of the year involving the Phoenix Police Department and 21st overall by law enforcement, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM research.

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