By Walter Berry
Associated Press
PHOENIX — One man was killed and seven other people were wounded in a shooting inside a downtown Phoenix hotel after an argument early Sunday, police said.
Officers responded to a call about a shooting at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel around 12:30 a.m.
Police said a group of people between the ages of 18 and 22 who all were attending a function inside the hotel had an argument that escalated into shots being fired.
“We do believe this is an isolated incident and not a random act,” police spokeswoman Sgt. Maggie Cox said, adding that detectives were still interviewing witnesses.
“There was definitely more than one shooter,” she said. “After the argument, different people within that group began shooting at each other.”
It was unclear what kind of event was being held at the upscale hotel located near the city’s convention center and close to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ ballpark and Phoenix Suns’ basketball arena.
Tom Delaney, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Phoenix, said in a statement that “the safety and security of our guests and colleagues is a top priority and we are assisting local authorities with the matter” and directed all inquiries to the police department.
Cox said arriving officers evacuated the hotel staff from the building before doing a search to make sure there wasn’t an active shooter.
They located a man who was declared dead at the scene and then helped the wounded — six men and one woman — get treatment before they were taken to hospitals.
They had “various injuries ... gunshot wound injuries” not believed to be life threatening, Cox said.
The names of the dead man and the seven wounded weren’t immediately released.
Police were processing evidence and reviewing surveillance video to determine the specific details to the shooting, according to Cox.