Three people were injured and a suspect was in custody after a shooting Wednesday evening in a suburban Phoenix shopping and entertainment complex, police said.
One of the three victims in the Glendale, Arizona, shooting was in critical condition, Officer Tiffany Ngalula said. The other two were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, she said.
When officers arrived to the northern edge of the Westgate Entertainment District shortly after 7:25 p.m. there was no longer active gunfire, Ngalula said.
“Our officers challenged that suspect and were able to safely take that person into custody,” she said. The shooter was unharmed.
Neighbors and people at the outdoor complex were told to shelter in place as a precautionary search of the area was underway Thursday night, Ngalula said.
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Some residents were getting reverse 911 calls advising them to stay inside, she said.
Lights were out in the area at the same time, Ngalula aid. It’s not clear if the outage was related.
The officer asked members of the public who might have recorded video of the violence or discovered social media video of a possible suspect to help detectives investigating the attack.
“Any information would be part of the evidence at this time,” Ngalula said.
The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting Glendale police with the investigation.
State Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, said on Twitter that he had seen the attack.
“I just witnessed an armed terrorist with an AR-15 shoot up Westgate,” he wrote.
The complex is in the district Quezada has represented for more than a decade, a spokesman for the lawmaker said.
Quezada “has been an outspoken advocate for gun reform and is deeply shaken and saddened to have witnessed such a horrible tragedy in our nation yet again,” he said in a statement Wednesday night.
The Westgate Entertainment District includes shops, a theater, restaurants and bars just north of State Farm Stadium, where the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals play.
The district announced new restaurant hours May 14 after the state allowed eateries to reopen with new safety protocols to prevent spread of COVID-19.
Todd Miyazawa and Andrew Blankstein contributed.