PHOENIX — Phoenix police say a suspect shot along Interstate 10 on New Year's Eve will remain hospitalized for a few weeks.
The incident occurred along Interstate 10 near 43rd Avenue after police pursued the suspect who is accused of robbing a Goodyear bank.
Goodyear police say at least three officers opened fire on the suspect, a 34-year-old man. No officers were hurt in the incident.
According to police the suspect's identity will be released once he is booked into jail after his medical release.
During the pursuit, Phoenix police say troopers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety used a spike strip in an attempt to disable the suspect's vehicle while on Interstate 17.
The spike strip was successful in disabling one of the vehicle's tires, however, the suspect did not stop for officers, police say.
Once the suspect made it to Interstate 10, a DPS trooper used his patrol car to stop the suspect's vehicle, causing it to rotate and stop.
Police say the suspect stayed inside of his car as Goodyear officers and troopers approached his vehicle.
During this time, police say a Goodyear officer saw the suspect "was pointing what appeared to be a gun at him."
This prompted that officer and two additional Goodyear officers to fire at the suspect. He was then taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police say investigators have not located a gun inside the suspect's vehicle.
Most of the pursuit was captured on Arizona Department of Transportation traffic cameras set up along the interstate, but ADOT communications director Timothy Tait tells ABC15 he made the decision to turn off the traffic camera about seven minutes before the chase ended.
Tait said ADOT does not make the decisions to turn off their cameras lightly, but in this case officer safety was the number one concern on his mind, when he made the decision to turn off the traffic camera.
Tait said ADOT has routinely turned off traffic cameras in the past for police pursuits, suicidal subjects, and dignitary visits.
Goodyear police are handling the administrative part of the investigation involving the officers who opened fire, while Phoenix police are handling the criminal investigation in this case.
ABC15 has requested body camera and dash camera videos from the incident and will update this story once we get those.
