Phoenix Shooting: Gunman Goes On Shooting Spree In Mesa, Police Hunting For Suspect
A gunman opened fire in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa on Wednesday, wounding at least four people across multiple shooting scenes before escaping.
Police in Mesa said the gunman struck in several different locations, including a restaurant and a hospital.
Details of the Phoenix shooting are still coming in, and police believe there may end up being more victims.
“We could have more at this time,” Mesa Detective Esteban Flores. “We just don’t know.”
The Arizona Republic reported that one person was killed in the shooting and five others were wounded, but police have not yet confirmed details of any fatalities.
BREAKING: 1 dead, 5 wounded in spree shooting near Phoenix http://t.co/cIDqU2fX7p
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) March 18, 2015
Investigators were reportedly called to at least five different shooting locations, including a railway station.
Mesa Community College issued an emergency alert and placed its campus on lockdown.
Police are now in a region-wide manhunt for the Mesa spree shooting suspect, who is described as a white man in his 40s with a tattoo on his neck. The shooting is near a light rail that travels throughout the Phoenix area, so the suspect could be anywhere in the area.
Former Phoenix police officer and law enforcement Paul Penzone told 12 News that investigators had a difficult task with many locations. He said they are looking to stabilize the settings to treat suspects and preserve evidence, while also gathering information as quickly as possible to find the suspect.
Penzone said that many other people could still be in danger.
“Desperation could come into form, as they try to get away from what he just did and avoid incarceration,” Penzone said. “He could be doing things like carjacking to continue this spree of violence.”
Penzone said there was at least one carjacking already, and people who may not have heard the news and are not alert could be in danger.
The police are echoing that warning. Flores said that with the Phoenix shooting suspect still on the loose, residents “should be really concerned.”
[Image via Twitter]
