9 people shot and injured in downtown Tucson early Sunday
Police shot and apprehended the suspected shooter, officials said.
At least nine people were critically injured early Sunday when a gunman opened fire in a busy entertainment district in Tucson, Arizona, before police officers shot him and stopped the threat, authorities said.
The shooting occurred around 2 a.m. local time in downtown Tucson, as the streets were teeming with people out for a night on the town, Officer Frank Magos, a spokesperson for the Tucson Police Department, said at a news conference Sunday.
Magos said officers assigned to foot patrol heard gunfire.
"Those officers immediately began running toward the sound of the gunfire and, in doing so, they came upon the suspect," Magos said. "Officers gave that suspect repeated commands before ultimately one of those officers discharged his department-issued firearm at that suspect, striking him."
The officers immediately rendered first aid to the suspect and to the wounded victims, Magos said. Nine victims, all adults, were taken to area hospitals in critical condition with gunshot wounds to their extremities, according to Magos.
The suspect, an adult male whose name was not immediately released, was also taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, Magos said.
A motive for the shooting remains under investigation. Tucson Police Department sources told Tucson ABC affiliate station KGUN that police are investigating whether the shooting was the result of an earlier confrontation between two groups.
Police asked that anyone with knowledge of the shooting or who has video of the incident to contact investigators.
Due to the incident resulting in a police-involved shooting, the Pima County Sheriff's Department is leading the investigation, Magos said.
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero released a statement on Sunday, condemning the shooting as "another serious and senseless act of gun violence."
"A shooter recklessly began shooting in a crowded area, striking nine people before being stopped by a Tucson Police Officer," Romero said, in part.
"As we all know too well, the impact resulting from this act of gun violence reaches beyond the scene and the victims," Romero added. "It affects all of us: family and friends, first responders, the witnesses, our entire community. We know these moments leave a lasting impression on us and our sense of safety."
"I’m heartbroken to learn that nine people were shot early this morning in downtown Tucson," former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords wrote in a statement Sunday in response to the attacks.
"Too many lives have been changed forever because of America’s gun violence crisis, in my hometown and across the nation. Mark and I are grateful for the bravery of Tucson’s first responders as we await more information and hold all those impacted in our hearts," added Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in January 2011 when she was shot in the head at an event near Tucson, an attack that killed six people.
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