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Phoenix cop accidentally shoots armed suspect

The officer was ‘startled’ when he ran into the suspect

By Police1 Staff

PHOENIX — A Phoenix police officer accidentally shot a gun-toting assault suspect in the shoulder, critically wounding him, according to the Associated Press.

Sgt. Tommy Thompson said that law enforcement officers were searching an apartment complex for the man, who had been accused of pistol-whipping someone earlier in the day.

According to KPHO.com, the suspect and an officer both rounded the same corner, meeting face to face. Thompson said the two “startled each other,” and that’s when the officer fired his gun accidentally.

Police told MyFoxPhoenix.com that the suspect had prepared for a shootout. He told people inside the apartment that if officers tried to arrest him, he would “shoot it out” with them.

The 36-year-old officer will be placed on administrative leave, standard practice in officer-invovled shootings. The suspect, who was shot in the shoulder, was taken to a Valley hospital in critical condition.

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