Nine people were injured in an early Sunday shooting in Tucson, Arizona, authorities said. Police said officers shot the suspected gunman at the scene, and he was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The violence unfolded around 2 a.m. local time in downtown Tucson, where officers already patrolling the area heard gunshots and “immediately began running toward the sound,” Frank Magos of the Tucson Police Department said during a Sunday news conference.
When officers reached the area, they encountered the suspect, described as an adult man. Magos said police issued “repeated commands” before one officer opened fire, striking him.
First responders provided emergency treatment at the scene to all nine shooting victims, as well as the suspect, before they were taken to hospitals. Magos said many of the victims suffered gunshot wounds to their extremities and were hospitalized “in critical condition.” Officials have not released their names, but Magos said everyone hit by gunfire was an adult.
Police know the suspect’s identity, Magos said, but investigators are not releasing his name publicly at this stage.
Authorities have shared few details about what led up to the shooting or a possible motive. Magos described the crime scene as “rather large,” suggesting investigators are still working through a broad area of evidence.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Office will oversee the shooting investigation, Tucson Police said. At the same time, the department will conduct its own internal administrative review of the officer who shot the suspect. Police said all officers who responded were equipped with body cameras.
Magos cautioned that the investigation “is going to take a significant amount of time.” Asked whether police believe the suspect shot all nine injured victims, or how many officers fired their weapons, he declined to give a direct answer, saying, “We’re not quite there.”
