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MCSO: Woman wrecks, shoots at deputies in Waddell

MCSO: Woman wrecks, fires at deputies in Waddell
Posted at 4:56 AM, Jul 23, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-24 11:52:04-04

A woman is in custody after crashing her vehicle in Waddell and then shooting at responding emergency crews overnight. 

Maricopa County Sheriff's officials say deputies originally responded to a crash near Perryville Road and Olive Avenue around 10:30 p.m with reports of possible injuries and multiple vehicles involved.

According to MCSO, a woman driving westbound on Olive Avenue struck a vehicle but failed to stop at the scene and continued driving westbound. The driver of the vehicle struck followed the suspect, who waved a handgun outside the driver's side window. 

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Annette Dennis, then rear-ended another vehicle, causing her to come to a stop in a dirt field. Bystanders reportedly tried to assist Dennis, who again displayed her firearm and pointed it at one of the bystanders. 

According to court documents, Dennis pulled the trigger of her gun while it was pointed at the bystander, but the gun failed to discharge. She then manually cycled the gun, loading a round into the chamber, and at that point, bystanders had fled to a safer location to alert officials she was armed. 

When MCSO deputies and fire personnel arrived, the woman began shooting toward them and into a neighborhood. 

A Tactical Operations Unit locked down the area and took over the situation after first responders safely backed off of the situation. 

MCSO says Dennis repeatedly failed to follow commands and refused to negotiate and was standing in the middle of the road when they deployed a K-9 that helped take her into custody. 

Dennis was taken to the hospital for treatment. One of the crash victims was also taken to the hospital. 

While being cared for at the hospital, Dennis attempted to grab a deputy's handgun while he was serving in a phlebotomist capacity. She was restrained and later cleared from the hospital.

Initial blood-draw results show that she had alcohol in her system at the time of the incident.

She has been booked and faces several charges including disorderly conduct, hit-and-run, endangerment, and multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Officials said impairment is being considered a factor and the investigation is ongoing.