Man shot by Phoenix police after long standoff
Dec 1, 2013, 11:42 AM | Updated: 5:25 pm
PHOENIX — A long standoff between Phoenix police and an armed man in west Phoenix ended with the suspect shot.
The incident began Sunday morning near 47th Avenue and Baseline Road when police got a call about a man who had been struck in the head with a gun, according to Officer James Holmes with the Phoenix Police Department.
Holmes said the victim was attacked when he tried to help the suspect’s wife or girlfriend while the two were arguing. According to Holmes, the unidentified suspect fled, and a couple hours later, the same officer who responded to the initial call saw a man who fit the suspect’s description among a group of people in a west Phoenix neighborhood.
“(The officer) approaches the suspect, he realizes he was armed at the time of the original incident and he started giving the suspect commands,” Holmes said. “When the suspect did not respond, the officer did draw his service weapon, and at that point, the suspect turned around with his handgun and fired a couple shots at our officer.”
Holmes said the officer took cover, called for backup and the suspect fled. The suspect then barricaded himself in a doghouse.
After nearly four hours, the man emerged from the doghouse with a handgun pointed at officers.
Holmes said that’s when three officers fired at the suspect, who has yet to be identified.
The man was taken to a hospital and remains in extremely critical condition.
KTAR’s Christina Estes contributed to this story.
