Family escapes mass shooting after woman spots gunman outside pizza restaurant

TUCSON, Ariz. (AZFamily/Gray News) — A confrontation between two groups of people ended with a mass shooting in which 10 people, including a suspect, were shot, according to officials with the Tucson Police Department.

Around 2 a.m. on Sunday, police responded to the shooting near 6th Avenue and Congress Street in downtown Tucson.

Officials said police in the area heard gunshots and immediately ran to the area and found the suspect running away.

Police said an officer then shot the suspect. Officers took the suspect into custody and administered aid before fire crews took him to a hospital.

Nine other people were also hurt, and authorities are hopeful they all will survive, according to Pima County Attorney Laura Conover. The victims suffered critical gunshot wounds to their arms or legs.

Police said the groups involved in the confrontation knew each other.

Anais Camacho said she was at Empire Pizza around 1 a.m. with her family when the argument broke out between the two groups just outside the business.

“They were passing through, I’m thinking, because the way he was backing up made it seem like they were coming from over there,” Camacho said.

Camacho said she noticed one of the individuals lift his shirt.

“He lifted his shirt up, and I didn’t even see the gun, but I knew what that meant,” she said.

She alerted those around her and grabbed her cousin before running.

“I said, ‘He has a gun, he has a gun,’” Camacho said. “As soon as we bent the corner, shots fired.”

Camacho said she is grateful her family escaped unharmed.

“I’m feeling grateful. I’m feeling grateful that me and my family are all OK. And that we were all able to escape,” she said.

The pizza shop released a statement on Instagram, saying two of the victims shot were on their patio.

“Our thoughts and prayers to the victims of this senseless act of violence,” the business said

Mayor Regina Romero also took to social media to denounce the shooting, calling it “another serious and senseless act of gun violence.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is leading the investigation into the officer-involved shooting. Tucson police will also conduct a separate internal investigation to determine whether any department policies were violated.