Payson man dead following police shooting near Lake Pleasant, Peoria officials say

PEORIA, Ariz. - Officials with the Peoria Police Department have released new details surrounding a deadly officer-involved shooting on the night of March 19.

The shooting, according to a statement released on the morning of March 20, happened near Pleasant Drive and Harbor Boulevard near Lake Pleasant. Officers responded to the scene at around 9:45 p.m. for a threats call involving a suspect had threatened to shoot a family member.

"When officers arrived, the suspect had a gun in his hand and did not obey officer’s commands," read a portion of the statement. "The suspect entered his RV and a few minutes later came to the open front door."

Later on, investigators say the suspect pointed the gun towards officers, and the three officers who responded to the scene fired their weapons.

"Each officer fired at least one round, striking the suspect," read a portion of the statement.

The suspect, identified by officials as 74-year-old Richard Schaare of Payson, was declared dead at the scene. No officers or bystanders were injured.

"Officers involved in this incident were wearing body worn cameras, and they were activated," read a portion of the statement. "This investigation was turned over to detectives from the Glendale Police Department as part of the West Valley Investigative Response Team."

Michelle Metivier was camping with her family nearby when it all happened. "All of a sudden the police came as we were starting to gather around the campfire and said, ‘You guys need to evacuate,’" she said.

Metivier heard the first gunshot go off.

"We got the baby up and everybody out of the area," she said. "Then we heard two and at that point, we realized it was an extremely serious situation."