Authorities search for 2 suspects who shot Buckeye man

BUCKEYE, AZ - Authorities are searching for two gunmen who shot a homeowner in the leg Friday morning in Buckeye.

According to Lt. Jared Griffith with the Buckeye Police Department, the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. near 233rd Avenue and Pima Road.

Griffith said the victim came home and noticed his lights were on inside the house when they shouldn’t have been.

He then added that the man loaded a gun he had in the car with him and then got out, taking in a garbage can as he walked up to his house.

"The victim is reporting that the suspects ambushed him. I just know a gun battle took place between the victim and the suspect," Griffith said.

Several neighbors heard the hail of gunfire.

"I know what gunshots sound like ... it was like bam, bam, bam, bam, bam! I told my husband 'did you hear that' and he said 'OK I'm not dreaming you heard that too,'" said Natasha Dobbs. "I said 'yeah, that's gunshots.'"

"I heard gunshots and the helicopter came and started shining the lights and I said 'what the heck was that!' It was crazy!" said another young boy.

According to detectives, the suspects then came out from the shadows and started shooting at the homeowner.

One of the suspects was reportedly masked.

The homeowner was shot in the leg and then the burglars took off running.

A witness told police they saw a third man inside the home who ran through the back yard to escape.

The homeowner was transported to a nearby hospital.

It’s unclear at this time if the victim and suspects knew each other, Griffith said.

No one else was injured in the shooting.

Police were not able to give ABC15 much detail on the suspects, except they drove away in a dark colored SUV.

The burglars did get away with several of the homeowner's belongings, but police won't say what the items were.