Arizona
2 killed, 6 wounded in shooting at graduation party in Arizona
MESA, Ariz. — Two people were killed and six others — two of them children — were wounded in a shooting at a high school graduation party, police said Sunday.
A 37-year-old man was taken into custody after a four-hour standoff with police at a house in Mesa, east of Phoenix, Mesa Police Sgt. Ed Wessing said.
Preliminary information indicated that the suspect was an invited guest at the party who got into a physical fight with his ex-wife late Saturday, Wessing said.
The suspect allegedly went to his vehicle, got a gun, returned to the party and opened fire, killing his 38-year-old ex-wife and a 32-year-old man, Wessing said.
He said six others had minor injuries. They included a 10-year-old boy who was grazed on the head and an 8-year-old boy injured by bullet fragments. More on whotv.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Former UWEC Golf Coach gunned down at work in Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona – 51-year-old Doug Georgianni was shot and killed as he worked in a mobile speed enforcement van on a Phoenix freeway Sunday night. Georgianni was the women’s golf coach at UW-Eau Claire from 1995 to 2001.
Police say they don’t know the motive for the killing.
Arizona became the first state to use photo speed enforcement on state highways last year. The Arizona Department of Public Safety awarded a contract for the operation of 100 fixed and mobile photo speed enforcement cameras in July and the first were deployed in September.
The program has drawn criticism from many who call the effort costly and unfair to motorists. Its proponents say photo radar saves lives by slowing motorists and frees up police to tackle other problems.
Georgianni had worked for three months for RedFlex Traffic Systems Inc., which has the state contract to operate the photo radar systems.
Hill said investigators believe Destories stopped behind the van and then slowly pulled alongside it and fired a gun multiple times. Georgianni was sitting in the van, doing paperwork with an interior light turned on when he was shot.
Five large-caliber gunshots hit the marked Department of Public Safety van; three of them were in a tight pattern and grouped on the window of Georgianni’s seat, according to the document.
Police found the magazine for a .45-caliber pistol in Destories’ front pocket when they arrested him, according to the probable-cause statement. More on WEAU.com
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Divorced pair dead in murder-suicide
Tucson, Arizona – A divorced couple who still lived together ended up dying together Thursday night in an apparent homicide-suicide, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman said.
Ana Delia Rios, 44, and her ex-husband, Martin Rios Gonzales, 44, were found shot to death in their Southwest Side home about 10:30 p.m., Deputy Dawn Barkman said.
Deputies were called to the home, in the 7100 block of South Hildreth Avenue, southwest of West Valencia and South Mission roads, after family members heard gunshots and ran from the house to use a neighbor’s phone to call for help.
Barkman said the couple had been arguing in the bedroom before the shots were fired.
Homicide detectives believe Gonzales shot his ex-wife and then turned the gun on himself, Barkman said. More on Tucson Citizen
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )15-year-old boy shot dead half-sister
Vail, Arizona – Shelden Andrew Pruitt was sentenced to six years in prison and a lifetime of probation Monday in the shooting death of Empire High School student Alexandria Salinas.
Pruitt, who was 15 when the shooting occurred, told police he did not know the gun was loaded, and was only trying to scare Salinas, who was 14 at the time of her death.
A few months before the shooting, Pruitt had moved to Corona De Tucson to live with his biological father Roland Salinas, leaving behind his mother in Colorado.
Days before the shooting, Pruitt’s biological mother had reported her gun missing, and the Vail School District later confirmed that friends had seen Pruitt with the gun at Empire High School.
According to court documents, Pruitt and Salinas were arguing over use of the landline telephone when the shooting occurred. Pruitt, who has stated he thought the safety was on, said he got the gun to scare his half-sister. More on VailSun.com
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