Contributed Article/Courtesy DPS
PHOENIX – A 14-year-old suspect was booked into the Maricopa County Durango Juvenile Facility on charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and misconduct with a weapon after firing a gun at Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers early Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, April 3, at approximately 12:14 a.m, a DPS trooper driving a fully marked patrol vehicle attempted to stop a Mercury passenger vehicle near Bethany Home Road and 31st Avenue for driving without headlights being illuminated.
The male suspect failed to yield to the trooper’s emergency lights and siren and continued to the area of 41st and Maryland Avenues. The suspect stopped his vehicle and immediately produced a handgun, firing at the troopers. One of the troopers returned fire with a rifle. The suspect then fled his vehicle and ran toward 43rd Avenue.
A Phoenix Police Department helicopter tracked the suspect to an alley southeast of Maryland and 43rd Avenues, where he was taken into custody and booked into the detention facility.
The troopers and the suspect were not injured during the exchange of gunfire. There were no passengers in the vehicle.
DPS detectives are leading the investigation and updates will be provided when they become available.
