Incidents in Flagstaff, Phoenix, Chandler and Coolidge prompt parallel inquiries and renewed scrutiny of use-of-force reviews.
PHOENIX, AZ — In a 24-hour span ending late Thursday, law enforcement agencies across Arizona were involved in five shootings in three counties, including a Flagstaff response where a Department of Public Safety helicopter crashed, killing its pilot and a trooper-paramedic, authorities said.
Officials described an unusually busy period that began Wednesday night with an active-shooter call in Flagstaff and continued Thursday with separate police shootings in west Phoenix, central Phoenix, Chandler and Coolidge. The Arizona Department of Public Safety, local police departments and outside review teams have opened investigations into each incident. The cases range from a domestic violence call and a homicide warrant service to a traffic stop and a domestic disturbance outside a police station. None of the suspects in the Thursday shootings had been publicly identified by Friday morning, and the agencies did not immediately release body-camera footage.
Flagstaff police said the initial incident began shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday when officers responded to a domestic violence report near Historic Route 66. A man fired a semiautomatic rifle at officers and at the woman who had reported the assault, prompting a prolonged exchange as he moved across rooftops. The DPS helicopter, called to provide air support, crashed around the time the suspect was taken into custody after being shot and taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. “This neighborhood was under siege last night,” Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly said at a briefing, adding that officers exchanged “dozens and dozens” of rounds during the standoff. DPS said the Bell 407 crash is under investigation by federal authorities alongside the agency’s Major Incident Division.
Through Thursday, three more Phoenix-area incidents unfolded hours apart. Around 4 p.m. in Maryvale, Phoenix police boxed in an SUV near 71st Avenue and Thomas Road while trying to detain a woman wanted in a homicide case. Officers fired a less-lethal round, and the woman allegedly pointed a handgun at officers, who then shot her; she was hospitalized in stable condition, a Phoenix sergeant said at the scene. Around 7 p.m., DPS SWAT troopers serving a high-risk search warrant at a trailer and RV park near 24th Avenue and Indian School Road came under fire. One 21-year DPS veteran was shot in the shoulder and three other troopers were struck by shrapnel, officials said; the armed suspect was also wounded and hospitalized. Later that evening in Chandler, police said a passenger fled a traffic stop near Arizona Avenue and Riggs Road, fired a gun while running and was shot in the leg by officers before being bitten by a police K-9. No officers or bystanders were reported hurt in that case.
In Coolidge on Thursday night, police said an officer responded to a domestic disturbance outside the department’s own station around 7:45 p.m. and encountered a man who displayed a machete and refused commands to drop it. At least one officer opened fire, and the man later died, according to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office. In Phoenix, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell visited the SWAT shooting scene and wrote that those who shoot officers “will be held accountable.” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said she was in contact with police and expressed support for injured troopers. Witnesses near the central Phoenix scene described hearing a series of gunshots and seeing heavy law enforcement presence and road closures on and around Interstate 17. A Phoenix resident who lives nearby said she heard three to four shots before additional units arrived.
Authorities said the Flagstaff crash killed two DPS crew members who had been supporting ground units. DPS described the dead as a pilot and a trooper-paramedic; the agency has not publicly released both names pending family notifications. The pilot was a former U.S. Marine Corps veteran who joined DPS aviation in 2021, and the trooper-paramedic had been with DPS since 2022, according to statements made Thursday. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are examining the helicopter wreckage while DPS separately investigates the shootout that preceded the crash. No other injuries were reported in the Flagstaff response beyond the suspect’s wounds.
Thursday’s clustered incidents add to a growing count of law enforcement shootings statewide this year. By Thursday night, Arizona news outlets tracking use-of-force events tallied at least 14 officer-involved shootings in 2026, including several in Maricopa County; totals can change as agencies confirm classifications. In separate developments this week, Phoenix police leadership acknowledged an earlier, unrelated case in which a man killed by officers during a west Phoenix break-in call was not the intended suspect, underscoring the scrutiny that can follow when deadly force is used. Departments typically place involved officers on administrative leave and refer investigations to multi-agency critical incident teams.
Officials said each of the five cases now moves into standard review. DPS’s Major Incident Division is leading inquiries linked to its troopers, while Mesa police will investigate the Chandler shooting as part of the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team. Phoenix police said homicide detectives and the professional standards bureau are gathering reports and video in the two city cases. Coolidge police referred questions on the fatal shooting to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, which will present findings to county prosecutors. Separate federal probes will examine the helicopter crash mechanics and sequence of events, with preliminary findings expected in the coming weeks and formal reports taking longer.
On Thursday night in central Phoenix, troopers and Phoenix officers managed traffic as hospital staff at St. Joseph’s Medical Center treated the wounded DPS members, who were later released to recover at home. “I’m praying for the safety of everyone in the area and for the injured troopers,” Gallego said in a social media post. Near the Flagstaff crash site, neighbors described a loud rotor hum followed by a jarring impact and fire in the nearby forested area. “You could hear the blades… then there was a very large crash; it shook the house,” one resident said. In Chandler, officers recovered a handgun near a storage facility behind the shopping complex where the traffic stop began, and police said there was no continuing threat to the public.
As of Friday morning, investigators had not released the names of the suspects in any of the Thursday shootings, nor detailed ballistics counts or the number of officers who fired at each scene. Agencies said additional information, including any body-camera footage and written reports, will be released after initial witness interviews are complete and once families have been notified. Memorial plans for the DPS helicopter crew were pending. Authorities said they expect to provide further updates after preliminary crash findings and investigative briefings early next week.
Author note: Last updated February 6, 2026.