Authorities are investigating a shooting on Christmas Day in what they believe was a family dispute at a restaurant in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, that left three people injured by gunfire and another person stabbed.
Phoenix police spokesperson Mayra Reeson said at a news conference that the the evening shooting happened at around 9:45 p.m. at an airport restaurant that is outside the security checkpoints in Terminal 4. An adult female and two adult males were shot, leaving the female with injuries police describe as life-threatening. The two men were in stable condition and expected to survive, with the man hospitalized with at least one stab wound listed in stable condition.
Sgt. Reeson told reporters that the group of people all knew each other and had a physical fight that led to one of them pulling a gun: “I do believe that this was a family dispute that escalated.” After the gunfire, a man and a girl were detained in an airport parking garage nearby. The gunfire led to the temporary closure of a security checkpoint at the terminal, the closure of some restaurants and a pause in service at the terminal’s PHX Sky Train station; police said they were still investigating why the group was at the airport, and whether they were traveling or were there for some other reason.
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