PEORIA, AZ — A man is dead after a shooting involving a Peoria police officer on Thursday.
Just before 7 p.m., Peoria PD received a call for a possible kidnapping attempt in a neighborhood near 87th and Pershing avenues, in the area of Thunderbird Road and Loop 101.
During an investigation, investigators learned a woman was pushing a stroller with a small child when a man whom she did not know approached and allegedly attempted to kidnap her. Witnesses tell police they saw the man reach for the child.
WATCH: Peoria PD officials provide update on the investigation Thursday
During a struggle, the woman called her husband, who ran to the scene. Police say the husband, along with a neighbor, chased the man down the street and into a cul-de-sac area.
At this point, a Peoria police officer arrived at the scene and an altercation between the officer and the suspect occurred.
The officer fired his weapon, striking the suspect. He was taken to a hospital where he died.
The officer was taken to a hospital as a precaution and is expected to be ok, police said.
Officials say the woman and child in the stroller were not injured during the incident.
Peoria police identified the man shot Friday as 43-year-old Matthew Paul Cardon of Peoria.
Jordan Smith lives with her husband and four kids at the end of the cul-de-sac where Cardon was shot. She says she often saw the woman walking her baby in the stroller pass by.
"She walks her baby every day, it's a normal thing for her to do, it's very scary that happened,” Smith said.
Smith says nothing like this has ever happened in the five years she has lived in the neighborhood. Before Thursday, she would let her older kids head across the street to play in the park on their own. Now, she says that won’t be the case.
“It kind of puts into perspective, even if you live in an area with gates, that you don’t know what’s happening. Anyone can get into your neighborhood, and they’re not going to be going out unsupervised,” Smith said.
Police do not believe the victims and Cardon knew each other. They add that they have evidence that Cardon may have had mental health issues.
An investigation by the Glendale Police Department remains ongoing.
