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The shooting began in a park, not far from a residence which police said was set on fire by the suspect, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus told an evening press conference. He said two or three children linked to the residence were missing.
In the park, the suspect opened fire on an ambulance on Sunday afternoon, hitting a 20-year-old EMT driver in the head and a 21-year-old EMT worker in the arm and chest. The suspect had reported the two EMTs and pointed in the direction of the nearby residential fire before shooting them, according to a statement from the Tucson Police Department. The driver is in critical condition and the second EMT worker is in stable condition, Magnus said.
As the park shooting unfolded, firefighters and some neighbors attempted to put out the blaze in the neighboring house.
The 35-year-old suspect quickly arrived at the burning property and opened fire, Magnus said.
A 44-year-old neighbor was shot dead in the head, according to the police chief. He said a Tucson fire captain with 17 years of service was shot in the arm but is in stable condition, while a second neighbor was shot in the head by a bullet and in good condition.
A badly burned body was also found inside the house, but authorities had not yet been able to establish her gender or relationship, if any, with the suspect, Magnus said.
He said police responded after firefighters informed them they were being shot while fighting the blaze. A shooting involving a police officer took place at a third location after the suspect fled the scene and was sighted by a police officer.
Chief Magnus said the officer and the suspect saw each other and the suspect crashed into the officer’s patrol car, deactivating it. The officer was able to get out of the car when the suspect started shooting and fired back, hitting him, Magnus said.
The suspect, whom police have not identified, is in “very critical condition,” the chief said. Police believe only one suspect was involved in the complex incident, he said.
The chief said the officer who exchanged gunfire with the suspect has been an 8-year veteran of the force.
“This is both a very tragic and a truly horrific incident with many unknowns at the moment,” Magnus said at the press conference.
Police are also investigating the whereabouts of two or three children linked to the residence where the deadly house fire took place.
The investigation is ongoing.
CNN’s Christina Walker and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.
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