QUEEN CREEK, AZ (AZFamily) — An armed suspect is dead and a Queen Creek police officer suffered minor injuries after a police shooting in a neighborhood that sparked a shelter-in-place order Tuesday evening.
Queen Creek Police Assistant Chief Noah Johnson said the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a driver who crashed into a ditch in the area of Ocotillo and Gantzel roads.
Police said the driver ran off and went into a nearby neighborhood, so PCSO asked QCPD for help.
Officers searched the area and found a person who matched the description of the suspect.
Officers set up a perimeter and neighbors called 911, saying they saw the suspect, Johnson said.
He said a surveillance video showed that the suspect was armed in the neighborhood of Ironwood Crossing, near Meridian and Queen Creek roads.
Police sent out messages to people in the area to stay inside their homes around 6:30 p.m. and gave a description of the suspect.
Johnson said officers closed in and did a yard-to-yard search. Eventually, officers found the suspect near a home on Joshua Tree Avenue. “And very quickly, an officer-involved shooting occurred,” Johnson said.
The suspect died, and the officer was taken to the hospital as a precaution, Johnson said. The police officer is now out of the hospital.
Police have not released the suspect’s name. What led up to the shooting is under investigation.
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