PHOENIX — Police on Friday afternoon identified a 36-year-old man accused of killing a woman and injuring nine police officers in a shooting reported hours earlier at a home in Phoenix.
Authorities said the Phoenix Police Department’s SWAT team found Morris Jones dead of an apparent gunshot wound after he shot a woman and five police officers at a home near the intersection of 54th Avenue and Elwood Street. It was not immediately clear whether Jones died of a self-inflicted wound.
Four other officers were injured Friday morning by shrapnel or ricochet after responding around 2:15 a.m. to a report of a shooting at the home, police public information officer Sgt. Andy Williams said. He added that four of the five officers who were injured by gunfire remained hospitalized on Friday afternoon.
“All of them are expected to survive their injuries,” he said, adding that one of the officers was critically injured while the other three had serious injuries.
Chief Jeri Williams said authorities continued Friday afternoon working to piece together the circumstances leading to the shooting and subsequent standoff with police.
I am so proud of the courageous men and women of @PhoenixPolice. 5 officers were shot and 4 others injured in an act of violence that critically injured a woman.
— Chief Jeri Williams, Phoenix Police (@PhxPDChief) February 11, 2022
While they heal from their wounds, their brothers and sisters in blue will be back out there answering when you call
Sgt. Williams said Jones “ambushed” an officer after inviting him into the home early Friday, shooting the officer several times. The officer was able to get away and to safety, he said. Other officers then surrounded the home and ordered the people inside to come out.
A man, identified as a family member who also lived in the home, came out while holding an infant girl who is believed to be the daughter of Jones and the woman he’s accused of shooting, Sgt. Williams said. Officers ordered the man to put the baby on the ground before telling him to approach officers, at which time they “removed (him) from harm’s way,” the police spokesperson said.
“After that, the officers moved in to extract the baby from the dangerous area, and that’s when they were fired upon,” Sgt. Williams said.
“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to call what these officers did heroic. They knew that an officer had just been shot in this very doorway, and four officers were willing to run into that doorway to try to save this child. I think that’s incredible.”
Mayor Kate Gallego said at a news conference that she was “incredibly proud” of the Phoenix Police Department following Friday’s shooting.
“We are fortunate that in such a horrific incident and with so many injured, all are going to be safe, though many face a very difficult recovery,” she said. “My heart is with the injured officers, their families and the entire Phoenix police team.”
Our hearts are with the police officers injured this morning, and with their families. We are praying for full recoveries. Thank you to our officers who put themselves at risk day in and day out.
— Mayor Kate Gallego (@MayorGallego) February 11, 2022
Authorities said the unidentified family member who brought the infant girl outside is cooperating with investigators and was not immediately considered a suspect in the shooting.
Officials declined to immediately release the name of the woman who died after allegedly being shot by Jones, citing the need to notify her family members. She was described by The Associated Press as Jones’ ex-girlfriend.
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