9 victims wounded, suspect shot & in custody after Downtown Tucson shooting

Ten people were hospitalized after a mass shooting early Sunday morning on Congress Street in Downtown Tucson. Authorities say a man opened fire, striking and wounding nine, before he was shot by a Tucson police officer and taken into custody.

At around noon Sunday, about a dozen marked TPD cars and a few unmarked vehicles blocked the east side of Congress from 6th Avenue to Scott Avenue. Crime scene tape also cordoned off 6th Avenue between East Pennington Street and Broadway.

The nearby Ronstadt Transit Center also was closed.

Tucson police said officers patrolling the Downtown area heard gunshots around 2 a.m. from the 100 block of Congress. That block includes several restaurants, including Empire Pizza & Pub on the north side of the street.

When they arrived at the scene, they saw a man running from the scene. Officers gave orders to the suspect several times before a uniformed officer shot him, authorities said. The incident ended with that shooting at the bus station at the corner of Congress and 6th Avenue, multiple social media accounts said.

TPD determined the man had shot multiple people. Statements from Mayor Regina Romero and Pima County Attorney Laura Conover placed the number of victims at nine.

Officers treated victims at the scene before the Tucson Fire Department took them to a nearby hospital.

“During the initial shooting, multiple individuals sustained gunshot trauma, primarily to their extremities,” said Officer Francisco Magos, a TPD spokesman.

The suspect was also hospitalized with serious injuries. No deaths were reported and no officers were injured, Magos said.

Romero said she’s hopeful the victims will recover quickly after the suspect “recklessly began shooting in a crowded area.”

She also placed some blame for the shooting on Arizona’s “weak gun safety laws, calling for universal background checks with gun sales, funds for violence prevention programs and extreme risk policies that would remove firearms from those who pose a danger to themselves or others.

“The impact resulting from this act of gun violence reaches beyond the scene and the victims. It affects all of us: family and friends, first responders, the witnesses and our entire community,” she wrote in a statement posted to social media. “We know these moments leave a lasting impression on us and our sense of safety.”

Conover, in another statement, thanked first responders and hospital staff for treating the victims.

She said senior prosecutors at her office were investigating and victim advocates were sent to the hospital to support those who were shot.

On Sunday afternoon, officers had not publicly identified the suspect.

The Pima Regional Critical Incident Team was tasked with reviewing the circumstances of the “officer-involved shooting,” with the Pima County Sheriff’s Department leading the investigation.

The Tucson Police Department also started a separate investigation to determine whether the officer violated any of the agency’s policies, which is standard practice whenever an officer shoots someone.

Investigators are asking anyone with information or who may have video of the incident to contact 88-CRIME, and reference Pima County Sheriff’s Department case number 260719048. You can remain anonymous, authorities said.

The incident is the largest mass shooting in Southern Arizona since the 2011 assassination attempt on former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Six people were killed and 13 others wounded in that attack.

“My heart is with the victims of this senseless shooting, as well as their families. I am praying for swift and full recoveries for everyone who was injured. I know firsthand how devastating the injuries from a shooting can be, and my thoughts are with each person who was impacted,” Giffords said in a prepared statement Sunday

“It is especially alarming to see another mass shooting in my hometown,” she said. “As we await more information, what I know is this: Arizonans should be able to go get pizza on a Saturday night without fearing the next random act of gun violence. Arizona continues to have laws that make it easy for dangerous people to access guns — the time to act is now.”