Mesa police fatally shoot suspect who allegedly pointed replica gun at them
Feb 8, 2022, 4:30 PM | Updated: 4:46 pm
(Facebook Photo/City of Mesa Police Department)
(Facebook Photo/City of Mesa Police Department)
PHOENIX – Mesa police officers fatally shot a 36-year-old man that allegedly pointed a replica gun at them during a confrontation early Tuesday, authorities said.
The incident occurred just after 3 a.m. when officers were called to a home near University Drive and Dobson Road in reference to a family fight, the Mesa Police Department said in a press release.
The caller told police that her son, identified as Brian Schneider, was at her home being confrontational and may be armed with a handgun.
Schneider allegedly ignored verbal commands by police who found him outside the woman’s home.
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Police said he then pointed what was believed to be a handgun into the air before lowering it toward officers.
Two officers fired their duty weapons and struck Schneider, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
A handgun that was found near Schneider was determined to be a replica, police said.
No officers were injured in the incident and an investigation was ongoing.
It was the third shooting of 2022 that involved Mesa police and the eighth by Valley law enforcement, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM tracking.
