The police departments of both Marana and Tucson were on high alert today as a bank robbery suspect opened fire on multiple law enforcement officers and hijacked two vehicles in an effort to elude police. The chase started on I-19, continued through more populated areas of the city, including a medical center on West Valencia.
Officer T.L. Brunenkant of the Marana Police Department spoke with the media after hours of gathering witness testimony and documenting the crime scene at the Paloma Medical Group building on 1400 W. Valencia. The entire event began Wednesday after a bank robbery occurred at the Bank of America on Cortaro and I-10. Police in the Marana area followed up on a lead to the suspect.
The suspect’s name has not been released.
After police began pursuit there was an exchange of gunfire on I-19. Various reports indicated that the suspect was shot on I-19 and, in an act of desperation, rammed his car into a police vehicle occupied by a detective.
The suspect then crashed into the median and proceeded to hijack a marked police squadron vehicle and proceeded down I-19 where the chase continued. Eventually the chase peeled off on the Valencia exit and that was when the suspect pulled into the parking lot of the Paloma Medical Group building.
At that point the suspect left the squad car he had stolen and hijacked another vehicle from an elderly pedestrian that was at the building for an appointment. The hijacking was at gunpoint and the suspect ran over the victim in the process of leaving the scene. Officer Brunenkant reported that the victim of the incident suffered non-life threatening injuries and that he was currently being taken care of at a local hospital.
After the second carjacking, which then turned into a third, Tucson Police Department officers eventually followed the suspect to the final stop in the chase at 8th and Campbell before officers pinned the vehicle in. When they approached the vehicle they noticed that the suspect did have a gunshot wound in the chest, likely from the initial exchange that took place on I-19. Officers treated the suspect on the scene but he was later pronounced dead at Banner UMC.
According to officials, the suspect did have an extensive criminal history including violent crime. There are also been some street and prison gang affiliations connected to the suspect. Officers at the Campbell scene said that the suspect did have a shotgun and later after hijacking the first police vehicle he was seen with a long gun. It is currently unknown if that long gun came from the police vehicle or if the suspect had both in his possession prior to carjacking the MPD vehicle.
Other information including officers involved, whether or not alcohol or drugs were involved in the chase, description of suspect’s weapons and the chase as a whole will be given at a later time according to police.