Craig Harris, Matthew Casey, Parker Leavitt and Ken Alltucker, The Arizona Republic 2:30 p.m. EDT March 18, 2015
Mesa police on the scene at East Valley Institute of Technology.(Photo: Matt Casey/The Republic)
MESA, Ariz. — A gunman shot six people, killing at least one Wednesday morning in Mesa, Ariz. The shooter is still on the loose and police are actively searching for him, according to a Mesa Police Department source.
Police are looking for a white man in his 40s with a neck tattoo, wearing a gray shirt and black shorts or pants.
Police could be seen searching cars and buildings in the area.
The shooting began around 8:45 a.m. local time at the Tri-City Inn when three people were shot in a motel room, according to the source. One person was killed and two others were injured.
The gunman then ran to a nearby restaurant run by the East Valley Institute of Technology and stole a car. A student also was shot in the shoulder, according to police.
The man took off in a stolen car and traveled to the Emilta Avenue and S. Longmore area, where two more people were shot.
Frank Underwood, 25, who lives in an apartment complex in the area, said he saw a man running from police as he approached his home.
Underwood got out of his car to see what was happening, when a police helicopter overhead told him to get back in his vehicle.
Underwood then got a text message from his neighbor, warning him about a man who was shooting multiple people and taking their cars.
Early reports said the shooting at multiple locations on Wednesday morning left four people injured and others calling in for medical assistance, fire officials said. The Mesa police department's spokesman said they have at least three confirmed scenes, but could have as many as five or six.
The shooting caused a lockdown at Mesa Community College, said Andrew Tucker, a Maricopa Community Colleges spokesman.
The college put out an alert saying: "Do not approach the campus. If you are on campus, please proceed to the nearest safe location and secure yourself inside."
A reporter who was on-site was escorted off the campus by a security guard. The security guard told the reporter that they were looking for a man with a gun on him.
"He has a gun and could shoot anyone at any time," the guard said.
A clerk at the Tri-City Inn said he could not provide any information about the shooting there.
In addition, the East Valley Institute of Technology put out a tweet saying that "parents have been notified" in regards to an incident on its main campus.
East Valley Institute of Technology offers tuition-free programs, such as culinary arts and nursing, to high school students who live in 10 East Valley school districts — Mesa, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Tempe, Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Higley, Queen Creek and J.O. Combs. These students, including charter-school and home-schooled students, spend half their day at the institute and the other half at their high school or home school.
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Principals from local school districts will not send students to the institute this afternoon, according to Gilbert Public Schools Superintendent Christina M. Kishimoto, who notified parents in her district.
Kishimoto said if students are already at the institute, they will remain at the school and parents will be turned away if they go to the school while it's in lockdown.
Once the lockdown is lifted, students will be allowed to leave or parents will be allowed to pick them up, she said. She added that if students take the bus to East Valley Institute of Technology, a bus will bring them back to their school once the lockdown is lifted.
Mesa fire medics were treating four patients on Main Street near a light rail station, a Mesa fire spokesman said.
Contributing: Megan Cassidy, The Arizona Republic.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1bfCpVS
Mesa police on the scene at East Valley Institute of Technology.(Photo: Matt Casey/The Republic)
MESA, Ariz. — A gunman shot six people, killing at least one Wednesday morning in Mesa, Ariz. The shooter is still on the loose and police are actively searching for him, according to a Mesa Police Department source.
Police are looking for a white man in his 40s with a neck tattoo, wearing a gray shirt and black shorts or pants.
Police could be seen searching cars and buildings in the area.
The shooting began around 8:45 a.m. local time at the Tri-City Inn when three people were shot in a motel room, according to the source. One person was killed and two others were injured.
The gunman then ran to a nearby restaurant run by the East Valley Institute of Technology and stole a car. A student also was shot in the shoulder, according to police.
The man took off in a stolen car and traveled to the Emilta Avenue and S. Longmore area, where two more people were shot.
Frank Underwood, 25, who lives in an apartment complex in the area, said he saw a man running from police as he approached his home.
Underwood got out of his car to see what was happening, when a police helicopter overhead told him to get back in his vehicle.
Underwood then got a text message from his neighbor, warning him about a man who was shooting multiple people and taking their cars.
Early reports said the shooting at multiple locations on Wednesday morning left four people injured and others calling in for medical assistance, fire officials said. The Mesa police department's spokesman said they have at least three confirmed scenes, but could have as many as five or six.
The shooting caused a lockdown at Mesa Community College, said Andrew Tucker, a Maricopa Community Colleges spokesman.
The college put out an alert saying: "Do not approach the campus. If you are on campus, please proceed to the nearest safe location and secure yourself inside."
A reporter who was on-site was escorted off the campus by a security guard. The security guard told the reporter that they were looking for a man with a gun on him.
"He has a gun and could shoot anyone at any time," the guard said.
A clerk at the Tri-City Inn said he could not provide any information about the shooting there.
In addition, the East Valley Institute of Technology put out a tweet saying that "parents have been notified" in regards to an incident on its main campus.
East Valley Institute of Technology offers tuition-free programs, such as culinary arts and nursing, to high school students who live in 10 East Valley school districts — Mesa, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Tempe, Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Higley, Queen Creek and J.O. Combs. These students, including charter-school and home-schooled students, spend half their day at the institute and the other half at their high school or home school.
Autoplay
Show Thumbnails
Show Captions
Last SlideNext Slide
Principals from local school districts will not send students to the institute this afternoon, according to Gilbert Public Schools Superintendent Christina M. Kishimoto, who notified parents in her district.
Kishimoto said if students are already at the institute, they will remain at the school and parents will be turned away if they go to the school while it's in lockdown.
Once the lockdown is lifted, students will be allowed to leave or parents will be allowed to pick them up, she said. She added that if students take the bus to East Valley Institute of Technology, a bus will bring them back to their school once the lockdown is lifted.
Mesa fire medics were treating four patients on Main Street near a light rail station, a Mesa fire spokesman said.
Contributing: Megan Cassidy, The Arizona Republic.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1bfCpVS
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