Phoenix police shoot, kill suspect in strip mall parking lot
PHOENIX - A suspect is dead following a police shooting in Phoenix on the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 2, the department said.
The shooting happened in the area of 37th Avenue and McDowell Road after someone had called 911 to report that an armed man was pointing a gun at him.
Police say they discovered multiple people carrying guns in the parking lot of a strip mall in the area, and one of them was shooting at the others.
That's when officers opened fire at the alleged shooter in response.
"After the shooting, officers moved up and used a less-lethal tool in order to encourage the suspect to show his hands," police said in a statement. "After no response, the officers moved up and provided aid until the fire department arrived."
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Leontae Kirk, died from his injuries.
No one else was hurt.
A neighbor who lives at an apartment complex across the street from where the shooting happened says he heard the shots and saw kids running away from the scene. He says those kids told him a man was pointing a gun at them, and that's why they ran.
"I just told those kids, ‘Lay down, lay down,’ 'cause I didn't know what was going on," the neighbor said. "They tried to jump the fence. I didn't know what was going on. Heard some shots, and like 16 shots. The kids started crying and everything."
This is not the only shooting incident a Phoenix-area police department is investigating. In Mesa, police are looking into a shooting at a pizza restaurant.
On Nov. 16, police released footage of the shooting.