PHOENIX — Phoenix police say a "suspicious person" who barricaded himself in a Phoenix QuikTrip store and began setting small fires inside the building early Tuesday morning has died.
The incident started around 2 a.m. near Interstate 17 and Cactus Road when police and Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers responded to reports of a person on the freeway.
Law enforcement tried to make contact with the person and get him to safety, but the man fled the area on foot, running into a nearby QuikTrip.
Police gave an update on the situation Tuesday morning. Watch the update in the player below:
Police say the man was seen with a knife before he barricaded himself in a back storage room. Fortunately, everyone else in the store was able to make it out of the building safely.
At some point during the situation, a small fire was set from the inside and the building's fire suppression system put out the flames with water.
A large police presence surrounded the store for several hours while officers worked to negotiate with the man. Around 5:30 a.m., officers breached the building and made entry into the storage room. They found the man unresponsive inside.
Despite aid rendered at the scene, the man was pronounced dead. He was later identified by police as 37-year-old Daniel Parra.
His cause of death is under investigation.
#BREAKING - I just spoke with Phoenix Police on scene who tell us the suspect in this morning’s barricade situation at a QT near the I-17 and Cactus is dead. Working to get more information right now @abc15
— Nick Ciletti (@NickCiletti) March 14, 2023
Police say they have not yet identified the man.
It's not clear how much damage was done to the QuikTrip during the incident, but a police spokesperson said it is likely "fairly severe."
Officials with QuikTrip released the following statement in regards to Tuesday morning's incident:
“Earlier this morning, an individual barricaded themselves in one of our Phoenix stores on the I-17 Corridor. We appreciate the Phoenix Police Department’s quick response in ensuring that all of our employees and customers were quickly and safely evacuated from the store. We are working with law enforcement to support their investigation into this incident. As always, the safety of QuikTrip’s employees and customers is our top priority."
No other injuries were reported.
