SWAT teams, mobile command, and crime scene response continued an investigation on Friday at the scene of an operation near the I-17 and Indian School Road, where four DPS troopers were hurt in a shooting Thursday night while serving a high-risk warrant.
“The bullets were flying overhead,” Raymundo Diaz, who lives in the area, said in Spanish. “We dropped down on the ground in our house.”
The trailer at the center of the operation was torn open.
The Department of Public Safety says this started with a gang task force investigation, saying that as SWAT and troopers entered a residence within a trailer park, a suspect immediately started firing rounds.
“I had to literally hit the ground and roll under the SWAT car so that I won't get hit, because I was scared of getting hit,” one woman told ABC15. She says she owns the trailer and is the girlfriend of the suspect. The woman claims she was in a domestic violence relationship and tried to warn the troopers.
“I was there when the officer got shot. I was actually in the back of the SWAT truck with the officer, and I truly am sorry,” she said. “I was trying to warn them like yo, he's gonna either start shooting at you guys, or he's gonna go down.”
One SWAT officer was shot in the right shoulder and injured in the left bicep. DPS suspects the other three were hit by shrapnel.
This comes during a devastating 24 hours for DPS, after a helicopter crash in Flagstaff killed two troopers.
“In less than 24 hours, we almost lost another trooper,” Sgt. Kameron Lee, DPS Public Affairs, said during a press conference Friday morning. “I think that underscores the danger that our personnel are willing to put themselves in to keep our community safe.”
Community groups are now rallying to support DPS.
The 100 Club of Arizona has provided $20,000 to the crash victims’ families, meeting with them to offer comfort.
“Both families are asking about each other, the other families, and their families are coming together and just devastated at this heartbreaking loss,” Melissa Kowalski, The100 Club of Arizona CEO, said.
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Kowalski adds that the group will continue to support with counseling, funeral arrangements, and resources in the years to come.
The Arizona State Troopers Association has started an online fundraiser at AZTroopers.org. They will also host three barbecues in partnership with the Fraternal Order of Police.
“This is not an easy time for them. Just would like to remind them that we love them,” Jeff Hawkins, Arizona State Troopers Association President, said.
Back in the neighborhood, Diaz says he is grateful for law enforcement efforts.
“They are doing good work, the police,” he said in Spanish. “There’s a lot of trouble, and people can’t go out leisurely.”
DPS says the 51-year-old suspect in Thursday’s operation has an extensive criminal history and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The woman who says she is the girlfriend of the alleged suspect is now offering an apology to the injured troopers.
“I do apologize that you were injured in the line of duty,” she said. “That he [the trooper shot] has a safe and healthy recovery, and I'm sorry that it happened to him. And to the other troopers that were around and helping, I understand that, you know, your brother did get hit.”
