(PHOENIX) — Five Phoenix police officers were shot and four others were hurt by shrapnel during an early morning barricade situation at a house, the department said.
All injuries are non-life-threatening, police said.
The incident began when officers were called to a home where a woman was reported shot, Phoenix police said.
When an officer approached to help, the suspect, an adult man, invited the officer inside, said Phoenix police spokesman Andy Williams.
As the officer approached the door, “the suspect ambushed him with a gun and shot him several times,” Williams said. “That officer was able to get back and get away to safety.”
“Other backup officers arrived on scene and they surrounded the home and began calling out the occupants,” Williams said.
Then another man — not the suspect — came out of the house holding a baby girl, police said. The man put the baby on the ground and walked to police where he was detained.
When officers went to bring the baby to safety, the suspect again opened fire from inside the house, shooting four more officers and indirectly injuring four other officers with shrapnel, police said.
The baby appears to be OK, police added.
The suspect then barricaded himself in the home, police said.
Once the scene was secured police said they found the suspect dead inside.
The woman who was the first reported to be shot was found in extremely critical condition inside the home, police said. She appears to be the suspect’s former girlfriend, police said.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweeted, “Please continue to pray for the five @PhoenixPolice officers injured this morning. Our men and women in blue work day and night—no matter the circumstances—to protect our state from danger.”
He added, “My office is working closely with the Phoenix Police Department to get updates on the situation and the officers’ conditions.”
Other police departments are also speaking out.
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown tweeted that his department “stands with our brothers and sisters of the Phoenix Police.”
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