Search for West Valley barricade suspect ends with officer-involved shooting in Buckeye

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - Buckeye Police investigators are looking into an officer-involved shooting that happened late Monday afternoon.

According to a tweet made by Buckeye Police officials, the shooting happened in the area of Verrado Way and Watkins, just south of Lower Buckeye.

FOX 10 has confirmed that the suspect in this incident is Christopher Mendoza, a man who was involved in an armed incident at Walmart and was involved in a number of barricade situations Monday.

According to reports, a Buckeye Police officer spotted Mendoza on his way home from work, and as the officer called it in, they set a perimeter to arrest Mendoza.

Once a perimeter of where Mendoza might be was set, Mendoza tried to break into a home in the area of W. Watkins and 206th Avenue. Mendoza couldn't get into the home, so he stole a pest control truck.

"Waving the gun in the air, making statements that he might have a hostage," said Buckeye Police spokesperson Donna Rossi. "Although officers were not able to tell whether or not that was true, they were on their guard certainly to see if there was a possible hostage. He was continuing to disobey commands to the officers. Stop the truck, get out of the trunk to show his hands. At this point in time, the truck was continuing to go towards officers when several officers fired rounds at the suspect."

"He was a criminal at this point. You probably understood the pressure that law-enforcement was putting on him, and attempts to apprehend him," said Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall.

According to officials with the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office, Mendoza was taken to a local hospital for injuries, and his condition at this time is unknown. No officers are injured.