Police arrest man accused of shooting woman in north Phoenix
PHOENIX (KSAZ) - Phoenix Police caught a fugitive on the run and FOX 10 was there as they took a suspected teenage shooter into custody.
He was wanted for gunning down a woman at an apartment complex in north Phoenix on August 18th.
In a FOX 10 exclusive, the mother of the suspect told Nicole Garcia that she was the one who called the police and turned him in.
19-year-old Maleqe Thompson's mother says she saw him at a bus stop in Laveen and called the police because she wanted to protect him and others. She tells us her son was involved in a relationship with the victim, who is more than 20 years older than him, but she didn't say what might have caused her son to shoot the victim.
It was Thompson's mother who called police, alerting him that she had seen him in the area of 35th Avenue and Baseline on Wednesday morning.
Police confronted Thompson with their guns drawn. Intially, he tried to run away, but eventually gave up, surrendering to officers without a fight.
The arrest happened at a strip mall where an 11-year-old girl happened to be. She was walking to her mother's work from a donut shop when she got caught up in the mix.
"I see some guy running past me, then I stop and look at him and then I see the police come out with a really big gun and I'm just scared and I'm crying," said Omri Jackson. "My mom comes and then the police.. telling me it's okay and you're okay."
Police have not said why Thompson opened fire on the victim, who was hit several times.
The shooting took place at an apartment complex near Desert Cove Avenue and Cave Creek Road, which is on the opposite side of town where Thompson was caught.
According to police and Thompson's mother, he was romantically involved with the victim. The mother didn't want to go on camera, but wanted to make a statement:
"Maleqe was a troubled child with special needs and met Ms. Soto at the Maricopa Juvenile Detention Center... On several occasions, I warned her about dating my son, that he was very immature and not mentally stable to be seeing a woman her age."
The victim was last listed in extremely critical condition.
Thompson has been booked into jail and is facing aggravated assault charges.