Queen Creek police arrest teenager after report of shots fired prompted search

PHOENIX — A search prompted by reports of shots fired in Queen Creek ended when a teenager was detained Tuesday night, hours after a neighborhood was put on alert, authorities said.

The 16-year-old boy turned himself in after being contacted by detectives, the Queen Creek Police Department said Wednesday morning.

He was booked into the Durango Juvenile Detention Facility on counts of disorderly conduct with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm within city limits and minor prohibited firearm possession.

Nobody else was charged in connection with the incident, police said Wednesday.

The situation started Tuesday when police responded to a call about shots fired near Ellsworth Road and Sierra Park Boulevard. Two people were detained at the outset, but a third person, believed to be armed, remained at large.

Area residents were asked to stay behind locked doors around 2 p.m., and Frances Brandon Pickett Elementary School was put on modified lockdown.

Update: The third person-of-interest in the “shots fired” incident from earlier today has been detained. QCPD is currently in the process of interviewing the individual. We will provide more information on potential charges tomorrow as the investigation is still ongoing. https://t.co/YtTQ1frptm

— Town of Queen Creek (@TownofQC) March 1, 2023

Police said just before 2:30 p.m. they thought the person they were looking for left the vicinity, and area was deemed safe soon after.

Just before 10 p.m., police said the individual, then described as a “person of interest” in the case, had been detained and was being interviewed.

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