Police locate vehicle involved in DPS officer shooting, suspects still outstanding
PHOENIX (AP) - A manhunt for multiple suspects was underway in the Phoenix area Wednesday after an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer was shot and wounded during a traffic stop and responding officers got into a shootout, authorities said.
The shooting occurred just before 3 a.m. on or next to an Interstate 17 frontage road in Phoenix as the officer approached a car he stopped for extremely dark tinted windows, officials said.
The officer was shot in the face but was able to radio for help, law enforcement spokesmen said.
Other officers arrived a few minutes later, and shots were fired at them from the suspect vehicle. The officers returned fire.
The suspect vehicle left the area, but it might have damage including a possible a shot-out back window, the spokesmen said.
Several hours later, a Phoenix Police Department spokesman said authorities had located the vehicle and were searching the vicinity. The spokesman, Officer James Holmes, declined to specify the location.
More than three people - believed to be young adults - were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, said Bart Graves, Department of Public Safety spokesman.
The wounded officer was in serious condition at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. His name was not released.
Holmes said the discovery of the vehicle led authorities to cancel "blue alert" messages that were displayed on electronic signs on Phoenix-area freeways throughout the morning. The messages describing the suspect vehicle as a blue Mercury Sable with a Kansas license plate. Authorities later also listed an Arizona license plate.
I-17 remained open after the shooting, but the frontage road and several nearby exit and entrance ramps were closed as police conducted their investigation.
The shooting occurred just before 3 a.m. on or next to an Interstate 17 frontage road in Phoenix as the officer approached a car he stopped for extremely dark tinted windows, officials said.
The officer was shot in the face but was able to radio for help, law enforcement spokesmen said.
Other officers arrived a few minutes later, and shots were fired at them from the suspect vehicle. The officers returned fire.
The suspect vehicle left the area, but it might have damage including a possible a shot-out back window, the spokesmen said.
Several hours later, a Phoenix Police Department spokesman said authorities had located the vehicle and were searching the vicinity. The spokesman, Officer James Holmes, declined to specify the location.
More than three people - believed to be young adults - were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting, said Bart Graves, Department of Public Safety spokesman.
The wounded officer was in serious condition at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center. His name was not released.
Holmes said the discovery of the vehicle led authorities to cancel "blue alert" messages that were displayed on electronic signs on Phoenix-area freeways throughout the morning. The messages describing the suspect vehicle as a blue Mercury Sable with a Kansas license plate. Authorities later also listed an Arizona license plate.
I-17 remained open after the shooting, but the frontage road and several nearby exit and entrance ramps were closed as police conducted their investigation.
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