Police officers in Tucson, Arizona, rushed toward gunfire early Sunday and stopped an armed suspect after a downtown mass shooting that left nine people critically wounded.
The shooting erupted around 2 a.m. near East Congress Street, a busy and “vibrant” downtown area, prompting officers on foot patrol to respond immediately, Tucson Police Department Public Information Officer Frank Magos said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.
“Those officers immediately began running towards the sound of the gunfire and, in doing so, they came upon the suspect,” Magos told reporters.
Magos said officers repeatedly ordered the suspect to comply before one officer fired a department-issued weapon, striking the man.
The suspect, described only as a man and not publicly identified, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.
All nine shooting victims were adults, Magos said. Each was struck in the extremities and transported to area hospitals in critical condition.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are asking anyone who saw what happened to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Office.
Witnesses near Highwire and Empire Pizzeria said they heard the gunfire before seeing a large police response flood the downtown scene.
