Glendale mass shooting: Violence, chaos erupts just steps from police headquarters building
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Three minutes. That's all the time it took for three people to be killed, and five others injured before police arrived at the scene.
The chaos and violence happened just steps away from the Glendale Police Department's headquarters.
The entire block was taped off into Monday as officers huddled outside a restaurant across the street from where the shots rang out.
What we know:
Those killed included a 17-year-old boy and two 21-year-old men.
Tragically, we are told that the 17-year-old and 21-year-old, Damien Anthony Sproule and Christopher Juaquin Sproule, were brothers. The third victim who died was Milo Christopher Suniga.
Those wounded include a 20-year-old woman, a 20-year-old man, a 21-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man, and a 16-year-old boy who was in surgery overnight, but is expected to make a full recovery.
Timeline:
This all began before 8 p.m. on May 4. About 200 to 300 people were at El Camaron Gigante, a restaurant hosting a concert and car show.
Witnesses say families were there to enjoy the cars and music.
Around 7:45 p.m., a fight broke out near the stage between two groups of people. Those involved were told to leave. Once in the parking lot, they began shooting at one another.
What they're saying:
We spoke to a woman named Secret who came to pick up her car that she left behind on Sunday night. She said there was some fighting inside, which later escalated to multiple shots – coming one after another.
She watched as people tried to give CPR to those who were struck. A horrifying scene that was a sharp contrast to what happened moments before: families listening to music and having fun.
"There was a little bit of beefing inside, so they stopped the music, got that under control. Started playing the music—there were a bunch of families—it’s a family event. We get together, it doesn’t usually happen, I don’t want it to look like the low rider community–like this goes on all the time, because it don’t," she said.
'A very scary situation’
"I go to the bar, waiting for my friends, and I hear this pow pow," Anthony Ramero, a customer, said.
One moment, Ramero says he was having fun with friends, and the next, he hit the floor, ducking from gunfire.
"There were a lot of families, kids, so you don’t typically expect that type of stuff to happen," Ramero said. "It’s horrifying. It was a very scary situation. You don’t know what was going on."
Ramriez, along with a young woman who was shot, took cover behind the car he brought to the event.
Using T-shirts as a tourniquet, he tried to stop her bleeding before police and firefighters arrived.
More witnesses speak out
"About five feet in front of us, he just pulled out his gun and he started shooting," a witness named Andrew Barraza said. "It was just mayhem. I didn't really have any time to think and just started running."
Vendors and patrons, Barraza, found any place to hide, shielding themselves from gunfire.
"You see the flash and you hear the bang, it's hard to explain. It's just, it's instant. It's instant panic," he said.
Barraza found the nearest door, a storage closet inside El Camaron Gigante, with a handful of people waiting for the gunfire to stop.
"Everyone was crying, and was just trying to hide. I personally was hiding under the table," a witness who didn't want to be identified said.
It wasn’t over.
"Finally, the shooting stopped and then everybody started getting up a little bit, and then boom, boom, boom, boom. I mean, there's probably hundreds of rounds," the unnamed witness said. "It felt like an hour, but I know it was only like 5 minutes."
What we don't know:
Investigators know they are dealing with multiple shooters, but they are currently gathering shell casings to determine the exact number.
Suspect descriptions have not been released.
What's next:
Officers stress this is an isolated incident involving people who knew each other. Because of that, they do not think there is a threat to the public.
Glendale PD is asking any witnesses who could help to come forward. You can call their non-emergency hotline at 623-930-3000.
Glendale shooting injures several people; police call scene 'chaotic'
Three people died and five others were hurt during a shooting at a Glendale restaurant near 57th and Glendale avenues. The police department called the scene "chaotic."
The Glendale Police Department released the calls for service log for the last year at the business location.