GLENDALE, AZ — Two teens have been arrested following a trooper-involved shooting on January 30.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety reports that around 5:30 p.m., DPS was tipped off about a suspected gang weapons transaction.
Undercover detectives contacted the gun sellers on Snapchat. They agreed to meet at the Walmart parking lot near 95th Avenue and Camelback Road to buy guns from “Moneyman” for $1,000.
DPS says a gray Jeep SUV pulled up with several people inside. One of the undercover detectives gave them the money for the guns. One of the suspects, a 16-year-old boy, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the detective, ordering him to back away. The Jeep then sped away.
The vehicle was confronted by other DPS troopers about a half-mile away. DPS says one trooper exited his patrol car just before the Jeep rammed the patrol car, nearly hitting the trooper. The trooper fired several shots, hitting one of the suspects.
The Jeep was found abandoned and DPS later learned the vehicle was stolen during a home invasion a few days prior.
The suspect who was shot was later found in a resident’s yard. A DPS K-9 officer bit the suspect to pull them from their stomach to their back. When the suspect rolled over, DPS says, a handgun fell out of the suspect’s waistband. The suspect was taken to the hospital and was arrested upon his release last Saturday.
A citizen later provided DPS with information regarding the home invasion where the Jeep was stolen. That led DPS to the second suspect, another 16-year-old male.
He was located and arrested on February 7.
DPS says both suspects match surveillance video from the Walmart store parking lot.
Both suspects have been charged in juvenile court with armed robbery and several counts of aggravated assault.
