'Psycho' sought in shootings of 6
Pastor Dale Morgan
Sun December 30, 2007
*'Psycho' sought in shootings of 6*
* Story Highlights
* Six shooting victims reported in stable condition
* Suspect, victims in ongoing dispute, police say
* Suspect traded gunfire with police
(CNN) -- Police in Phoenix, Arizona, appealed Sunday for help in finding
a 24-year-old man known as "Psycho" who is a suspect in Saturday's
shootings of six people and a dog.
Jose Francisco Mendoza is a suspect in the shootings of six people,
Phoenix police say.
A spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department described the suspect,
Jose Francisco Mendoza, as a 5-foot, 9-inch tall Latino man.
Sgt. Joel Tranter said two police officers responded Saturday evening to
a 911 report of a disturbance at a house in a suburb of Phoenix. When
they arrived, they were met with gunfire from Mendoza, who was standing
in the street, Tranter said.
Though the officers returned fire, neither they nor Mendoza was hurt,
Tranter said in a news release.
Calls to police from inside the house reported that several people had
been shot, he said.
Police sealed the neighborhood and entered the house, where they found
five shooting victims; a sixth was found in front of the house, Tranter
said. A dog was also critically wounded, Tranter said.
The six victims, who were taken to a hospital, have not been identified
publicly. They were all described as being in stable condition.
Police found a gun in a second house, leading them to believe Mendoza is
unarmed, Tranter said.
"Preliminary information indicates that that Mendoza and victims had
been involved in an ongoing dispute that first started with a physical
confrontation and then escalated into a shooting with numerous rounds
being fired," Tranter said.