Man charged with 18 assault counts after Downtown Tucson shooting injures nine

A 21-year-old man is facing felony aggravated assault charges that stem from a mass shooting early Sunday morning that left nine injured. The suspect was also shot as he was running from the scene.

Tucson police confirmed David Leroy French was arrested at the scene. He is facing charges of nine counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, nine counts of aggravated assault with serious physical injury and one count of discharging a firearm at a structure.

It’s likely that French will be charged with more offenses as the investigation continues, said Tucson police spokesman James Horton.

French was listed as being held by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department on Monday afternoon, with no bond yet set. Horton said he will be taken to the jail once he is released from the hospital.

TPD previously said officers patrolling the Downtown area heard gunshots around 2 a.m. Sunday.

When officers arrived at the 100 block of East Congress Street, the site of several restaurants, they spotted a man running away.

They shot him at the bus station on the corner of Congress and 6th Avenue, according to multiple accounts on social media.

TPD determined the man had shot nine people. Mayor Regina Romero said the gunman “recklessly began shooting in a crowded area.”

Two of the nine victims were on the patio of Empire Pizza & Pub, on the north side of Congress Street, the restaurant and bar stated on social media.

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

The suspect was also seriously injured and hospitalized. No deaths were reported and no officers had been hurt, TPD spokesman Frank Magos said hours after the shooting.

Romero, in a statement made hours after the shooting, said it was partially caused by Arizona’s “weak gun safety laws,” calling for tighter restrictions on gun sales, extreme risk policies for those who pose a danger to themselves or others and increased funding for violence prevention programs.

Both Romero and Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, in another statement, thanked first responders and hospital staff who treated the victims.

Conover said senior prosecutors from her office were investigating and victim advocates were sent to the hospital to support those affected by the shooting.

The east side of Congress, between 6th Avenue and Scott Avenue, remained closed for hours after the gunfire Sunday, along with 6th Avenue between East Pennington Street and Broadway.

The Ronstadt Transit Center, on the corner of Congress and 6th Avenue, was also shut down.

Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon is a Class 3 felony, while aggravated assault with serious physical injuries is a Class 4 felony, under state law.

Court records show French pleaded guilty in September 2025 of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon during an incident the previous October. He was sentenced to four years of supervised probation.