Armed man in tactical gear dead after fatally shooting 2 in Phoenix

PHOENIX – Three people, including the suspect, were killed and two Phoenix police officers were wounded in a shooting Sunday night, authorities said.

The Phoenix Police Department said 24-year-old Isaiah Steven Williams was wearing tactical gear when he opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle outside a motel near 27th Avenue and Deer Valley Road.

“Kevlar helmet, tactical vest, high-powered rifle – this individual was set on doing damage to our community,” Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Monday morning.

The two officers’ injuries were not life-threatening, Sgt. Vincent Cole said during a press conference. One officer was already released from the hospital.

Three other people at the site were treated for injuries and released from hospitals, police said.

Police said Isaiah Williams died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officers responded to the area after an 8:30 p.m. call about shots fired near a motel and other businesses.

Investigators said surveillance video showed the suspect shooting randomly at the building, then at a vehicle that had pulled into the motel parking lot.

A man and woman in the vehicle were killed, police said. The victims were identified Tuesday as 36-year-old Misael Arevalo and 44-year-old Karla Garzona.

The suspect then threw a Molotov cocktail at the restaurant window but it did not start a fire.

He shot at the arriving officers; one took a bullet to the shoulder and the other was pelted by shrapnel, including to the face.

The officer with the wounded shoulder managed to get out of the patrol vehicle and return fire as backup units pulled up. Four patrol units were sprayed with bullets.

Jeri Williams said over 100 rounds were fired.

Police said they evacuated the nearby businesses.

Video showed Isaiah Williams crossing the parking lot, and then falling to the ground, police said. Besides the rifle and tactical gear, they said he had ammunition, incendiary devices and a gas mask.

“We have a very complex and significantly large scene,” Cole said at a press conference.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is assisting in the investigation of the shootings.

Deer Valley Road was closed from Interstate 17 to 27th Avenue until about 4 p.m. Monday. The southbound I-17 frontage road was shut down between Pinnacle Peak and Deer Valley roads for the investigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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